Health Equity Articles
Featured Articles
Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Real People
One Pediatric Gastroenterologist’s Mission to Expand Pediatric Treatment Options
For Dr. Nicole Kulisek, the path from pediatric gastroenterologist to US Medical Affairs leader at Pfizer has always been guided by the same question: How can we expand access to effective treatments for children who need them most?From bedside care to drug development, her career reflects a belief that early intervention, paired with scientific rigor, can change the course of a child’s life. Today, that perspective shapes her work at Pfizer, where she helps advance IBD innovations aimed at...
Purpose & Ideals
Hiding in Plain Sight: The Racial Toll of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States.1 Caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and spread through infected tick bites, it affects an estimated 476,000 Americans each year.1,3Yet the burden of Lyme disease, particularly the experience of a timely diagnosis, isn’t shared equally.Despite its prevalence, the face of Lyme disease in public health data is overwhelmingly white. In the United States, surveillance data shows that over 90% of Lyme...
Programs & Initiatives
Bridging the Gap: Community-Based Organizations Seek Trust, Tools and Funding to Advance Public Health
Read the full report. Community-based organizations (CBOs) are the cornerstone of community health—yet across the country they face substantial uncertainty, according to a new national survey supported by Τhe Pfizer Multicultural Health Equity Collective (The Collective).These on-the-ground, grassroot nonprofits play a vital role in improving health, particularly for historically underserved populations, as they build trust and meet local needs. As part of Pfizer’s long-term efforts to uplift...
Programs & Initiatives
Pfizer's Global Health Fellows Program: Leveraging Colleagues’ Expertise to Help Improve Healthcare Access Around the World
Global Health Fellows (GHF) is Pfizer’s signature skills-based volunteering program, empowering colleagues to lend their skills and expertise to global health partners in underserved communities around the world. For over 20 years, the program has helped to strengthen health systems and close the health equity gap in communities that need it most. Through the program, Pfizer colleagues have participated in pro bono consulting projects across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S., where they...
Programs & Initiatives
Not for Granted: Pediatric Immunization Through Experts’ Lens
New survey fielded by Excellence in Pediatrics Institute, with support from Pfizer, aims to uncover challenges and find solutions to gaps in pediatric vaccination rates in Europe
Purpose & Ideals
Global Health Fellows: Partnering to Strengthen Health Systems
Recently, Ellen Gerstein, Pfizer's Senior Director of Digital Communications, visited Africa as part of our Global Fellows Program. She shares her experience in this article.At Pfizer, we’re driven by our Purpose—to deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives. That Purpose has never been more clear to me than during my experience partnering with North Star Alliance through Global Health Fellows—Pfizer’s signature skills-based volunteering program.Since 2003, Global Health Fellows has...
Purpose & Ideals
An Accord for a Healthier World: Working Together to Help Address Unmet Healthcare Needs in Lower-Income Countries
Currently, regulatory agencies may take up to seven years to approve essential medicines and vaccines in low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) from the time those same treatments were first approved in high-income countries, if they are approved at all.1 The burden remains disproportionately higher in low-income countries.2 Lack of access to quality healthcare is related to healthcare inequities in LMICs and hinders equitable access to safe and effective treatments.2Those living in LMICs...
Programs & Initiatives
Pfizer's Multicultural Health Equity Collective Marks 10 Years of Progress
Marginalized communities in the United States have faced generations of health inequities due to systemic discrimination embedded into our healthcare system. Life expectancy in the U.S., for instance, masks significant racial and ethnic disparities – the average life expectancy for non-Hispanic American Indians or Alaska Natives is seven years lower than it is for non-Hispanic whites.1
Trusted Voices
Together We Can Change the Odds for People with Cancer
One in three people in the United States will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.i This means you, or someone you know, may someday be impacted. This disease does not discriminate. Unfortunately, many people face unnecessary barriers to timely and equitable screening, treatment and support. To help close these gaps, the American Cancer Society (ACS) and Pfizer recently launched a new three-year initiative, “Change the Odds: Uniting to Improve Cancer Outcomes,” aimed at addressing...
Trusted Voices
Bringing Together Diverse Organizations to Strive for Health Equity
As a Black woman who grew up living in subsidized housing in the U.S., I know what it means to live in a world where healthcare is not equal, and not trusted. Like so many others, I have family and friends along the health spectrum who have little interest in going to the doctor because they don’t feel seen or heard. This well-earned lack of trust has led some to decide against receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, among other healthcare services and interventions. I know firsthand the work that...
Real People
Equitable Access to Multiple Myeloma Treatments Can Help Close the Survival Gap
Jennifer Flowers thought her pain and fatigue were a side effect of working out. Perhaps she’d pushed herself too hard or strained a muscle. But the pain persisted, so she scheduled an appointment with her doctor. Her diagnosis—multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer—was unexpected. “I was stunned,” Flowers says. “I’m a health-conscious professional and was exercising multiple times a week.” Her first thought, Flowers says, was “How long do I have to live?” Medical Innovations Extend...
Purpose & Ideals
Equity in Advanced Prostate Cancer Care Begins with Changing the Conversation
Prostate health is not a popular topic of conversation. Even in healthcare settings, patients and providers might be hesitant to discuss prostate health or cancer screening. But talking openly is not only the key to destigmatizing an important topic, it’s one of the first steps in addressing global health inequities that impact those diagnosed with prostate cancer.“In the past 10 years, we have seen advances in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer (aPC), but some people are still being left...
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