Nearly half of Georgia’s counties lack an OB-GYN and 7 rural hospitals have closed since 2010. More than 250,000 Georgians are uninsured because they can’t find an affordable option, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Georgia is one of 12 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, which would mean more residents with low incomes would have healthcare coverage.
Lack of information, stigma, discrimination, and distrust of the medical system also played a role, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can substantially reduce the risk of cervical cancer — but in 2019, only about half of teenagers in Georgia were fully vaccinated for it. About a third of the women interviewed for the report had never heard of it.
See “Why A Treatable Cancer Disproportionately Kills Black Women” by Kavitha Surana on the BuzzFeed News website (February 2, 2022)
Related posts of interest
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Black women have highest risk of advanced cervical cancer
