Doctoral Student Division 40 Beavercreek, Ohio, United States
Objective: While it has been known that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is most diagnosed in a young white population emerging literature suggests that the incidence of MS may be higher in African American populations than previously suggested in the literature (Dong et al., 2019). In addition, cultural bias in the referral and establishing appropriate diagnosis and treatment is an ongoing obstacle (Amezcua et al., 2020). This poster highlights the diagnostic discrepancies in healthcare and research for multiple sclerosis in African American populations and neuropsychologists' value in advocating for changing the narrative for MS within medical settings. Data Selection: Literature was obtained through various databases such as Google Scholar and OhioLink. Keywords include multiple sclerosis, neuropsychology, African American, advocacy, health disparities, diagnostic discrepancies, ethnicity. Data Synthesis: Health and mental health disparities that AA clients face influence the delay of MS diagnosis and subsequent treatment services (Amezcua et al., 2020; Stuifbergen et al., 2021). In addition, the degree of disease course is far more aggressive for African American patients; therefore, support through neuropsychological assessment to track disease course and provide recommendations is critical in advocacy work (Khan et al., 2015).
Conclusions: There should be more effort put forth in neuropsychology to increase representation within clinical research and prioritize the care who experience health care disparities, such as AA clients with MS. A neuropsychologist holds unique power that can be used to advocate and raise awareness regarding delays in diagnosis and the unique course of the disease and provide community resources for patients (Khan et al., 2015).
