RNAO member and professor of nursing, Dr. Bukola Oladunni Salami is co-chair for RNAO’s new best practice guideline (BPG) titled Addressing Anti-Black Racism in Nursing (AABR). She is senior author on a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on March 23, 2026.

The Canadian Community Health Survey, conducted annually by Health Canada, found that 10 to 15 per cent of Black adults skipped medication doses or did not refill prescriptions compared to about six per cent of white adults. Even when researchers omitted variables for income and insurance, Black people were still less likely to fill prescriptions, Bukola said. A possible reason for this could include distrust of the health-care system because of direct or systematic racism.

“I think this points us to a very, very important question related to the need for equity in medication drug coverage,” she said. “When we think about Canada, we say we have universal health care – but universal health care that does not include prescriptions.” (CTV News, March 23)

Read more about RNAO’s equity work with Black nurses on the In Focus webpage. And get details on the release of the new AABR BPG in this issue’s in-depth feature about the launch event at Queen’s Park in February 2026.