General Surgery Resident Connie Shao, M.D., won Best Poster for the 2021 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting (ARM).

Over 1,000 posters from health services researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners across the country were presented. Of those, 20 posters were nominated for Best Poster. Shao was announced to be the final award recipient.

Shao’s winning poster was titled “Age Exacerbates Inequities in Telemedicine Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic for Cancer Patients in the Deep South.” Her mentors are Dr. Daniel Chu, Dr. Sushanth Reddy, and Dr. Eric Wallace. Her research is funded by the American College of Surgeons Resident Research Award, as well as the Health Services/Comparative Effectiveness Research Training Program at UAB, led by Dr. Michael Mugavero and Dr. Emily Levitan.

Shao’s study found that among telemedicine visits at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, audio-only visits are used more by patients who are Black, older, from lower income ZIP codes, and publicly insured. Additionally, Shao found that as patients age, disparities between Black and white patients are exacerbated despite increasing video telemedicine use over time.

“As telemedicine becomes ubiquitous, we are at risk of exacerbating disparities at the intersection of health and technology,” said Shao. “Alabama’s cancer patients are particularly affected by the digital divide, which prevents some of the most vulnerable patient populations from equitable healthcare access”.

Shao’s award was included in the Academy Health’s Daily Alert email and on their website, as well as their Twitter. Additionally, Shao will receive a complimentary meeting registration to ARM 2022 in Washington, DC.

“It was an incredible honor for our research group to receive this award,” said Shao. “I am looking forward to attending the conference next year!”