Difficulties accessing treatment and poor understanding of cultural differences has spurred the proliferation of health apps designed for and by racial minorities, according to an April 2022 Lancet report.
Black entrepeneurs have stepped in to address flaws in the traditional healthcare system by desiging apps that empower minorities to improve their health through connecting them to non-white healthcare providers and providing culturally sensitive mental healthcare.
One app, Health in her Hue, connects women of color to health providers of color, from nutritionists to physicians. Another mental health therapy app, Ayana Therapy, links people of color with mental health therapists using detailed and culturally sensitive questionnaires.
According to Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, the increase in these apps "demonstrates that Black people are attempting to find solutions to the very real need to be seen and treated with humanity in a very racist mental health and health-care system."