Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Health Disparities Amplified by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rashmi K. Sharma, MD MHS, and Cardinale B. Smith, MD PhD

It is hard not to feel discouraged these days as the streets burn with rage over racial injustice, our lives are turned upside down amidst a global pandemic, and the promise of a better tomorrow seems so elusive. The palliative care community is used to dealing with things that are hard—difficult conversations, raw emotions, conflict, oh so much conflict—but these days, everything seems not just hard but unbearable.