BlackDoctor.org, launched on Nov. 15, specifically addresses the health concerns and medical issues facing the African-American community. This website is the latest creation of Reginald Ware, founder of the healthy lifestyle publication Heart and Soul magazine.
BlackDoctor.org was created as a “health portal” for African-Americans as way of providing the black community with information on healthy lifestyle options. Ware’s mission since the inception of Heart and Soul magazine, was to do what is right for African Americans in regards to health.
With Black Doctor.org, Ware hopes to continue that mission in a different arena. “There is power in doing the right thing. Now we have taken BlackDoctor.org and transitioned to the interactive platform of the Internet, with the same mission: to improve the quality of life for African-Americans,” he said.
Tommie Miles, an Electronic Computer Technology major at DeVry University, believes that it is important for the black community to have a media outlet that seriously addresses the issues affecting African-Americans, “It is good to have this website because most websites that deal with medical issues only address the concerns of the majority and frequently neglect the concerns of individual minority groups,” Miles said.
Ware realized that important fact when he developed BlackDoctor.org, “Black males need to start having annual exams for prostate cancer 10 years earlier than white males and breast cancer in black women develops at younger ages. Consequently, we need our own credible and trusted resource that correctly informs us on the various health concerns,” he said.
On BlackDoctor.org it has the latest news on the most important medical updates. There are news reports on the distrust of the AIDS vaccine, Medicare, and the declining AIDS rate among African-Americans. Also the website gives nutrition tips tailored toward men and women and provides a locater for doctors around the country.
Sean Frazier, a student at Prince George’s Community College, found the website very useful in finding a doctor. “I go to the doctor about every four months and I don’t have a regular physician,” Frazier said, “But BlackDoctor allowed me to find a physician that is close enough to my home so I can get medical treatment conveniently.”
Miles, who goes to the doctor only when there are noticeable problems, believes that a website like this will encourage him to get check-ups more often. “I think that this website will make me take my health more seriously and go to the doctor even when I think nothing is wrong,” he said.
Ware feels that tackling these issues in the African-American community will not be easy, but he is willing to take the risk. “Now I’m back doing what I feel I am called to do. The challenges are significant. But I like my chances. In fact, I like my chances a lot,” Ware said.
