Infectious Diseases and Advocacy: This is our Lane

Person, Anna K

The disparate effects of SARS-CoV-2 virus on communities of color, paired with disjointed federal and local responses to the pandemic and the ongoing examples of structural racism’s effects on health highlight the need for physician advocacy on behalf of patients. The job of infectious disease physicians has always involved caring for the “whole patient” but the need for advocacy around issues related to racism, housing, food insecurity, substance use disorders, and mental health has increased. Advocacy at all levels- local, regional and national- can make a difference and be a profoundly rewarding part of the career of an infectious disease/HIV physician.