NEW ORLEANS — Like numerous other industries in this country, the American healthcare system is filled with inequities. Whether in terms of standard of care, access to care, or quality of care, the system can fall short or fail the people it was designed to serve.
Through their reporting in their respective regions, the session “Reporting on Health Care Inequities,” hosted by Laura Garcia of the San Antonio Report and Drew Hawkins of the Gulf States Newsroom, seeks to bring some inequities in healthcare in their communities to light.
Garcia, through her participation in the University of Southern California’s Annenberg National Fellowship program and her work at the San Antonio Express-News, reported on the lack of healthcare infrastructure on the south side of her native San Antonio and how it negatively impacted the healthcare outcomes of the majority Hispanic and Latino population that live in that community.
“I think the importance comes in really, revealing something that maybe has always been a certain way, but really should change,” Garcia said. “Especially when you’re talking about people’s lives and the quality of their life. So to me, I think that’s just super important to be able to tell those stories in an authentic, real way and find the people within the community that are either working to change that or are deeply impacted by it.”
Hawkins agreed with the importance of centering people in stories like these and takes this message into account in his approach when producing stories related to the topic.
“For me, I’ve always been interested in people-first reporting, and I think having that impacted person as part of the story, so it’s not just numbers and data, policies, and quotes from politicians,” he said. “You have people’s real, lived experience that they’re willing to share with you and your readers.”
From there, Hawkins then zoomed out on the larger context that has put that person in their situation.
“Generally, that also usually includes the wider community, and a wider impact, expert analysis, research, and that will all tie into the story, but it’s all bolstering that person’s experience and supporting what they’re saying and experiencing,” he said. “Let their experience take hold and be the crux of the story.”
Hawkins also highlighted the importance of tracking policy and policymakers when researching how certain healthcare decisions and outcomes arise.
“It’s important to remember the impact of specific policies and systems that have been put in place and how they are impacting large communities or communities that are underreported,” he said.
Garcia is proud of her work in empowering other writers to shine a light on issues that affect their communities in a way similar to how she was able to.
“I’m not a full-time reporter anymore, I’m an editor now, but through my work with the USC Annenberg Fellowship, I help other reporters be able to do these kinds of stories in their communities,” she said. “Which for me is just super fulfilling to be able to help these stories see the light of day because they’re not easy to do and a lot of times they’re going to ruffle people’s feathers and people won’t want to talk about them, but it’s still important to do them.”