Educational content from recorded physician discussions — not medical advice. Always talk to your child's care team about your child's situation.
Content of this collection
Diversity in Academic Otolaryngology: An Update and Recommendations for Moving From Words to Action
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Despite the ACGME's recent emphasis on the importance of recruiting and retaining a diverse physician workforce, the minority of otolaryngology residency programs advertise any concerted, department-level efforts toward increasing D&I at th
article · Jun 2026
Researchers should ask whether they are using race as a proxy for socioeconomics, racism, or oppression; if so, they should measure those constructs directly rather than race. — Kevin Sykes, Understanding Health Equity Research w/ Kevin Sykes, PhD, MPH | BackTable ENT Podcast Ep. 152 · 25:28
Health Equity Collaborative in ENT w/ Dr. Alexander Chiu & Dr. Romaine Johnson | ENT Podcast Ep. 98
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video41:23 · Jun 2026
Understanding Health Equity Research w/ Kevin Sykes, PhD, MPH | BackTable ENT Podcast Ep. 152
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video1:01:22 · Jun 2026
Ep. 98 Health Equity Collaborative in ENT with Dr. Alexander Chiu and Dr. Romaine Johnson
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In this episode of BackTable ENT, Dr. Gopi Shah, Dr. Romaine Johnson (UT Southwestern), and Dr. Alex Chiu (University of Kansas) discuss health disparities rese
podcast41:15 · Jun 2026
Chronic sinusitis symptoms include inability to breathe through the nose, facial pressure, loss of taste and smell, persisting for 12 weeks or longer—sometimes years or a lifetime. — Alexander Chiu, Dr. Alexander Chiu, an Elsevier author · 0:55
Featured picks for families are being prepared — the summaries above are written for you.
Expert statements from the recordings in this collection.
Dr. Alexander Chiu, an Elsevier author
Chronic sinusitis affects at least 30 million people a year, and the actual numbers are probably much higher than quoted.
Alexander Chiu0:27
Chronic sinusitis has a bigger detriment on quality of life than lower back pain, according to some studies.
Alexander Chiu0:38
Chronic sinusitis symptoms include inability to breathe through the nose, facial pressure, loss of taste and smell, persisting for 12 weeks or longer—sometimes years or a lifetime.
Alexander Chiu0:55
Most chronic sinusitis cases can be treated with medicines, but some patients who do not respond require surgical intervention.
Alexander Chiu1:21
For beginners to endoscopic sinus surgery, the operative field appears as 'a big field of red,' requiring step-by-step correlation of anatomy via illustrations, CT, MRI, and endoscopic views.
Alexander Chiu2:40
The Atlas of Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Based Surgery pairs illustrations, CT scans, MRI scans, and endoscopic pictures to guide readers step-by-step from patient preparation to closure and postoperative care.
Alexander Chiu3:09
Adoption of endoscopic sinus and skull-based techniques in some developing countries lags 3 to 5 years behind the United States.
The atlas spans the spectrum from basic sinus procedures (first 10 chapters) to advanced skull-based tumor procedures (later chapters), allowing surgeons to progress as they gain experience.
Alexander Chiu4:56
Health Equity Collaborative in ENT w/ Dr. Alexander Chiu & Dr. Romaine Johnson | ENT Podcast Ep. 98
Equity requires providing different levels of support based on individual circumstances to achieve optimal health, unlike equality which provides the same resources to all.
Alex Chiu4:45
African American black patients consent less to surgery for head and neck cancer and have poorer outcomes when case-controlled for tumor staging, based on data published in 2012.
Host summaryAlex Chiu summarizes what Dr. Romaine Johnson said — not the host's own clinical position10:48
Current otolaryngology literature focuses heavily on documenting disparities (e.g., Black children having more severe sleep apnea and higher revision rates) but lacks intervention studies to reduce these disparities.
Romaine Johnson9:02
Language barriers contribute to increased emergency room visits and phone calls after pediatric tonsillectomy when post-operative instructions are not provided in the patient's preferred language.
Romaine Johnson9:36
Implementing language-preference tracking and providing instructions in preferred languages reduced emergency room visits and phone calls after tonsillectomy at Children's Hospital Dallas.
Romaine Johnson9:54
The Health Equity Collaborative was founded in February 2022 with six initial institutions including University of Mississippi, Henry Ford, Atlanta Georgia, University of Maryland Baltimore, and University of Kansas.
Alex Chiu12:15
The collaborative now includes approximately 20 academic programs with varying degrees of involvement.
Alex Chiu20:24
Qualitative research using structured interviews is difficult and requires discipline to identify themes across 40 participants.
High-impact journals show reluctance to publish qualitative studies despite their value in understanding patient and trainee experiences.
Mixed methodology papers combining qualitative and quantitative data were developed partly as a response to editorial preferences for hard data.
Caregiver research for medically complex conditions is woefully understudied despite its potential impact on patient outcomes.
Community participatory research requires talking to patients to understand what they want from research and how it will impact them locally.
Alex Chiu18:21
The American Academy of Otolaryngology received a grant from GSK to fund a core award for three years of health disparities research.
Alex Chiu19:40
Otolaryngology has the least representation of underrepresented minorities among medical specialties.
Alex Chiu29:18
Orthopedic surgery's Nth Dimension program has been more successful than otolaryngology initiatives in recruiting people of color over the past five years.
Alex Chiu26:03
Patient non-compliance with medications or treatment recommendations often stems from distrust, access barriers, or inadequate explanation rather than forgetfulness or unwillingness.
Alex Chiu32:05
Public health departments and family medicine have more developed infrastructure for equity work than otolaryngology and can provide expertise in participatory research methods.
Research shows that individuals who achieve elite status tend to become more interested in maintaining that status over time rather than maintaining their original idealistic goals.
Host summaryRomaine Johnson summarizes what Dr. Alex Chiu said — not the host's own clinical position37:15
The collaborative's initial funding strategy of paying participants for their time and providing elaborate meals was not effective.
Structured interview questions used in residency applicant selection can assess work ethic, communication skills, problem-solving ability, and resilience to adversity better than board scores and letters of recommendation.
Understanding Health Equity Research w/ Kevin Sykes, PhD, MPH | BackTable ENT Podcast Ep. 152
Sykes discloses that he is a cisgender white man and that his lived experience does not always reflect the experiences of the communities he works in, which may introduce bias into his work.
Life expectancy varies dramatically by zip code; in Sykes's current work area, mean life expectancy is 68 years in two zip codes, 76 years one zip code north, and 90 years two zip codes north.
Kevin Sykes8:06