Dr. Miriam Robin’s passion for eliminating medical inequities led to her receiving a grant for a project dedicated to meeting patient needs.
Comprehensive hair care in medicine is critical to patient care, especially for patients with textured or natural hair. Miriam Robin, MD, recently appointed Chief Physician at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Specialist training in internal medicine and pediatrics (Med-Peds) Program and current chief physician in Specialist training in internal medicineDuring her time as an assistant doctor, she noticed a shortcoming in nursing care and tried to remedy the situation.
“Hair is an important aspect of identity and cultural expression, particularly for ethnic minorities,” said Dr. Robin. “But the current selection of hair and skin care products we carry do not meet the individual needs of all patients, particularly those with natural hair, textured hair or curly hair.”
To meet this need, Dr. Robin and a team of residents and medical students developed the Inclusive Hair, Inclusive Care project, which aims to provide a more comprehensive range of hair and skin care products.
Through this project, Dr. Robin received a Back to Bedside grant from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The Inclusive Hair, Inclusive Care project was one of 23 open innovation projects funded nationwide.
Dr Robin said the project recognises that basic human dignity is as important as evidence-based medicine. She said the first shower a patient takes in hospital is crucial to their recovery.
“We cannot expect some of our patients to expect an unexpected visit and know they need to bring products from home,” said Dr. Robin. “Not all patients have family members who can bring them their personal care products from home. This project is critical from a health equity perspective in an area that is often overlooked.”
Dr Robin said that the products currently available in hospitals can cause hair breakage and that current razors can cause inflammation around the hair follicles in patients with curly beards.
To meet this need, Dr. Robin, residents and medical students have developed hair and skin care kits with QR codes that patients can scan and complete a survey about their satisfaction with the kits.
“Ultimately, we hope to design the project in a way that will make our patients feel more involved and that by having a stronger connection with their patients, they will also improve their cultural competency during their residency,” said Dr. Robin.
As part of the “Inclusive Hair, Inclusive Care” pilot project, Banner Health offers hair and beard kits containing satin headscarves, sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner, coconut curl cream, coconut oil, wide-tooth combs and large shower caps for patients with curly, wavy, dry or chemically treated hair.
In addition, Banner Health also carries beard care products – such as single-blade razors, soothing shaving cream and aftershave – specifically for patients with curly and coily hair.
This project grew out of Dr. Robin’s clinical experiences at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In her first months after graduating from medical school, Dr. Robin witnessed many patients dying alone and away from their families.
“I was a very happy medical student and have become someone who is considering leaving medicine,” said Dr. Robin.
“Understanding this aspect of burnout is of great importance for my path, because this project is about awakening joy in medicine and thus managing or preventing burnout.”
Dr. Robin would like to thank Dr. Jodi Tate, a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa, for sharing her pilot project on inclusive hair and inspiring Dr. Robin to develop this project.
Jinnie Xie, a fourth-year medical student at the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix and a member of Dr. Robin’s team for this project, has previously worked with Dr. Robin during her pediatric internship at Phoenix Children’s.
“I felt that Dr. Robin really cared about me as a medical student and was open to collaborating with me,” Xie said. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to help her with other projects and continue collaborating with her.”
For Dr. Robin, the future of patient care lies in recruiting physicians with diverse life experiences. “Our patients expect our medical students, residents, fellows and attending physicians to advocate for them,” said Dr. Robin.
“One of the best ways we can serve our patients is through shared life experience – a real understanding of what our patients are going through. Projects like this are a step in the right direction.”
Dr. Robin draws on her experience from a combined training program (Med-Peds) to see what works in different systems in the hospital setting.
“If we can find a successful model for projects like this, I’m optimistic we can successfully implement them in multiple hospital systems,” said Dr. Robin. “I want our patients and our trainees to feel seen and know that there is a place for them in medicine.”
