The vision of the Urology Care Foundation™ (UCF) is to “be the leader in improving health care for urologic patients worldwide…” Fundamental to achieving this goal is the need remove inequities—inequities of education, inequities in research, and inequities in access to health care. As 2023 comes to an end, I am proud to reflect on how UCF is hard at work to meet this challenge.

Patient Education

During the 2023 Annual Meeting, the Public Education Council and Committees (PECC) reviewed its strategic plan and had important discussions around distribution and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The work of the PECC reflects one way we are focused on “Equity Through Education” (Figure 1). The PECC completed more than 200 patient education projects this year. The Foundation currently offers translations of select patient education materials in 11 languages. These translations account for about 40% of the Foundation’s total patient education. Translations are produced with cultural sensitivities to unique audiences and allow for collaborations to reach populations globally. Educated and informed patients are more able to actively participate in their care and care decisions.

Figure 1. The Foundation’s primary mission components and programs to address inequities. URiM indicates underrepresented in medicine.

In addition to the more traditional web articles and downloadable PDFs, multimedia outreach has become a staple of the Foundation’s patient education. For instance, the monthly launches of the Foundation’s patient-friendly podcast have grown to an all-time number of listens surpassing 250,000. Patient-friendly videos highlighting urology conditions, disease, and treatment options have allowed the Foundation to now boast nearly 8000 subscribers on YouTube. New in 2023, the Foundation has expanded the promotion of UrologyHealth extra^® to include weekly social media posts from the time the publication launches until the release of the next issue.

Research

In 2023 the Foundation continued to encourage young talented researchers by providing more than $1.5 million in urology research funding. These gifts not only fund the best research from talented scientists, but also help foster and support long-lasting research careers. New and multiyear awardees supported by the Foundation in 2023 include Research Scholars, Residency Researchers, 1 Rising Star in Urology Researcher, 1 Physician Scientist Residency Training Awardee, and Summer Medical Student Fellowships. Many of the newest awards are designed to support the education of medical students from racial and ethnic backgrounds underrepresented in urologic research. These efforts strive to provide opportunities to participate in the important work of discovery and foster an inclusive research environment.

Humanitarian Initiatives for Underserved Populations

According to the WHO, half the world lacks access to essential health services. Millions of people around the world suffer from urologic disease, impacting children and adults, males and females. Many countries, and even regions within the United States, lack the urologists to serve their patient populations. The gaps and disparities across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic communities worldwide persist in spite of global wealth.

The Foundation’s Humanitarian Grant Program recognizes and supports individuals and organizations promoting the health of urology patients and communities in underserved areas, either in the United States or internationally, by providing direct care, enhancing access, or through educational efforts (Figure 2).

Figure 2. A snapshot of current Humanitarian Grants and underserved areas being supported. UCF indicates Urology Care Foundation™.

We also recognize the outstanding humanitarian efforts of individuals with our, now annual, Humanitarian Recognition Award. We were proud this year to award Dr Serigne Gueye, an international member in Dakar, Senegal (Figure 3). Dr Gueye has worked tirelessly on programs that improve urological care in some of the lowest-resourced parts of the world and holds an exemplary record of treatment and training in international programs.

Figure 3. Humanitarian Recognition Award winner Dr Serigne Gueye.

Health Equity Fellowship

This year we launched the Health Equity Fellowship. This program is designed to train early career urologists who are passionate about humanitarian work within the United States so that they may become urologic leaders in future humanitarian initiatives and become effective in engaging with diverse communities, especially those most marginalized. The 2-year program consists of 1 year of didactic education in partnership with the Center for Urban Bioethics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. After completing coursework and developing a toolbox to practically address inequities, the fellow is supported in year 2 with a UCF grant to implement a capstone shovel-ready project.

The 2023 inaugural Health Equity Fellow is Dr Randy Vince in Cleveland, Ohio (Figure 4). Dr Vince is known for his passion for helping others, specifically when it comes to disparities in urologic care for prostate cancer. He is the director of Minority Men’s Health at the Cutler Center for Men at University Hospitals and an assistant professor of urology at Case Western Reserve University. Black men in the city of Cleveland experience the worst outcomes in nearly every health metric. Dr Vince has begun doing community programming aimed at increasing health literacy, helping patients navigate the health care system, and enrolling for insurance benefits.

Figure 4. 2023 Health Equity Fellow Dr Randy Vince.

I am proud of all that we have achieved this year and continue to be grateful to the many individuals, organizations, and corporate partners who generously gave their time, talents, and financial support to further our vital mission. To our staff, leadership, and donors, thank you for your ongoing attention to solving problems and seizing opportunities to improve more lives.

Making a gift to UCF is a chance to invest in the future and to save lives. I invite you to learn more about our work, our partners, and our stewardship by visiting UrologyHealth.org/Donate. Thank you!