Angelina Jolie on bruise detection technologies for domestic violence victims

· Entertainment · By ReportWire
Angelina Jolie on bruise detection technologies for domestic violence victims

Angelina Jolie has written a guest editorial for the American Journal of Nursing titled, “Addressing Health Inequities in Survivors of Domestic Violence,” which explains the importance of bruise detection technologies for patients with varying skin tones.

Angelina says in part, “Nurses are in a trusted profession of care and frontline treatment. Nurses I have spoken to have pointed out that often crucial evidence of abuse goes unrecorded. In addition to screening for and documenting abuse, nurses can and do counsel patients and protective parents of abused children about anticipated coloration changes and swelling to sites of injury, and help to obtain evidence 48 hours after the initial contact (and at additional intervals if the victim agrees).“

Angelina also shared a story about her daughter Zahara and how she experienced racial bias in the health care system:

“Reflecting personally, when my daughter Zahara, who is from Ethiopia, was hospitalized for a medical procedure, the nurse told me to call her “if she turns pink near her incisions.” I stood looking blankly at her, not sure she understood what was wrong with what she had said. When she left the room, I had a talk with my daughter, both of us knowing that we would have to look for signs of infection based on our own knowledge, not what the nurse had said, despite her undoubted good intentions.

Even as my family has access to high-quality medical care, simple diagnoses are missed because of race and continued prioritization of white skin in medicine. At a societal level, racial disparities in health care affect outcomes for millions of people. From technology to improving diversity and representation in medical research and training, it is past time to embrace new solutions.”

Angelina had spent several years advocating for the reauthorisation of the Women Against Violence Act that was eventually signed by President Biden in March 2022. You can read the whole essay at the source.

Source, essay

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