Dr. Sharon Jones-Lambirth,
Internist & Primary Care
[Listed as one of the Best 122
Doctors in the Bay Area, by Oakland Magazine]
African American Community
Martin Luther King, Jr., once said that systems of aggression have been set up against black people. That was and still is true, but there are a number of systems of aggression we have set up against ourselves. One glaring system that we can do something about is the neglect of our own physical and mental health. Today, African Americans are still afflicted with those systems that Dr. King denounced and additional ones. Additionally, there is managed care and the lack of adequate medical and mental care for all, but this is amplified many times in the African American community, especially among our 27% underclass.
Dr. Harry Edwards of UC Berkeley once stated that blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites; and if arrested, they are more likely to be tried; and if tried, they are more likely to be convicted; and if convicted, they are more likely to be sentenced; and if sentenced, they are more likely to get the death penalty; and if given the death penalty, they are more likely to die. While this statement is true legally, it is a good metaphor for the present state of our healthcare.
The systems of aggression set up against us Dr. King decried, are still in force, but not as visible as in the past, yet through our neglect of the most valuable aspect of our lives, we have erected additional systems of aggression against ourselves.
In an interview with Dr. Sharon Jones-Lambirth, GIBBS
discussed a range of health concerns that are frequently
associated with the African American community.
Dr. Sharon J. Jones-Lambirth is a local Internist
and Primary care doctor. She graduated from UC Berkeley and UCLA/Drew
Medical School and was the Medical Director of Alta Bates Sickle Cell
Department for a number of years before going into private practice. Her
office is in San Pablo, CA. []
Dr. Jones-Lambirth:
I divide the medical treatment needs of African Americans by gender because the needs differ by gender. Generally, for black males, starting at age 35, they should have general checkups, once over 40, they should have their prostate checkups regularly. They should have their cholesterol monitored, and they should be monitored for Hypertension.
During their childbearing years, Black females should have adequate Prenatal Care because we tend to have smaller birth-weight babies and more premature infants than the general population. Also, there is a much higher infant mortality rate, so young women need to come in early and start their Prenatal Care.
After general childbearing ages, they need to come in for general checkups and mammograms at ages no later than 40. They need to have pelvic tests done on a regular basis. Also, they need to be checked for high cholesterol and heart disease--30's into 40's because we have a high incidence of heart disease with poor outcomes at birth.
For young people, there should be STD/HIV counseling and intervention--hopefully, adults will already have this information--however, if there is infection, we need aggressive therapy and adequate care. Often, blacks do not make use of the therapies that are available.
Although there are diseases that are particular to us,
the ones that affect our health most often are hypertension, prostate
cancer, obesity, diabetes, kidney failure because of hypertension,
strokes, heart disease, and Sickle Cell Anemia.
Sickle Cell Anemia is a disease that is not really understood by our community. Our community needs more knowledge of it and more treatment support for those in our community with it.
Other health issues in our community are poverty, drug use, gun violence, and violence generally. These are defiant health issues we need to concern ourselves about. These, as well as some of those above, are poor-people's and underclass people's health issues. See Violence, Dr. Jackson. (See Violence in Emergency Rooms.)
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Dr. Jones-Lambirth is an Internal Medicine Specialist, offering Primary Care for adults. Her office is located at 2023 Vale Road, #8, San Pablo, Ca. She can be reached at (510) 233-1990. Dr. Jones was listed as one of the "122 Best Doctors of the East Bay," by the Oakland Magazine, December 2005 Issue
Republished 5/8/06
