The inception of the PA profession was a response to the shortage of health care providers in the US. The fight continues as multiple factors such as poverty, environmental threats, lack of access to health care, and educational inequities continue to result in health disparities. Healthcare providers should strive to acknowledge the importance of culture and the dynamics that impact access to health care. Disparities are preventable inequities. Barriers to access include lack of adequate insurance, patient perception of needs, and resources that facilitate access to healthcare.

Click here to read about the PSPA’s commitment to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Physician Assistant (PA) profession in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Health Disparities Committee invites you to enter this year’s competition!

• ONE pre-physician assistant student and TWO current physician assistant students could receive cash prizes!
• PSPA fellows will have the opportunity to gain free conference registration and a one-year PSPA membership!

In years past, the committee has received essays, videos, and PowerPoint™ presentations for this competition. We will continue to encourage creativity by welcoming multimedia projects for the 2023 competition!

The Thomas J. Lemley Competition for Health Disparities in 2023 encourages PSPA members, fellows, students, and pre-PAs to reflect on the topic, “The Care of Adopted and/or Foster Patients and the Families.”

Every year, almost 424,000 children are living in the United States foster care system. Over 122,00 of these children are eligible for adoption but, on average, they will wait four years for an adoptive family. More than 69,000 of these children live in institutions, group homes, and other environments. In 2019, over 20,000 children aged out of the foster care system. Most of them will leave without the emotional and financial support necessary to succeed (US Department of Health and Human Services).

International adoptions have decreased over the last several years (1,622 adoptions in 2020 and 2,971 adoptions in 2019) largely due to increased regulations in the United States. Millions of children all over the world remain in need of a home (American Adoptions).

Families of foster and/or adopted children may face financial challenges, uncertainty in the foster/adoptive process, and struggle to find support/community, among other things. Foster and/or adopted children face unique challenges, including (but not limited to):

• Cultural differences from foster/adopted family and/or community
• Language barriers with family and/or community
• Issues with acclimatization to new environment
• Previous trauma resulting in emotional and behavioral disturbances
• Grief, separation, and loss
• Self-esteem and identity
• Unknown family medical history

The aforementioned issues are just a few examples of what foster and/or adopted patients and their families face. To honor the mission of Dr. Eugene Stead and all who were instrumental in the birth of our profession, we ask that you explore ways to improve the overall care and awareness of this special population. Culturally competent PAs should look for ways to heighten awareness of disparities that exist and integrate the knowledge of cultural factors to patient education and instructions.

Please join the Health Disparities Committee and let us know about efforts to take to address healthcare disparities in your current practice. Contact Jane Arenas by email at healthdisparities@pspa.net if you would like to be contacted by the committee.

Deadline to submit a project is June 16th, 2023 @ 11:59 PM. Click here for the Thomas J. Lemley Health Disparities Competition Guidelines.

Thomas J. Lemley Award for Health Disparities