HEALTHCARE
RACIAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTHCARE
Black and minority ethnic groups face noticeable disparities within healthcare system:
Black infant mortality rate is 2.5x that of White counter parts
Doctors are less likely to prescribe appropriate treatments and pain medication vs their white peers
Black men are 50% more likely to get prostate cancer than white men and 2x more likely to die from it
31% of white children with mental health issues receive treatment or mental health services whereas only 13% of minority children do
Many physicians have preconceived notions leading them to believe minority patients will not comply with recommended lifestyle changes and medication
The Tuskegee Experiment was a US- govt backed clinical study that withheld adequate treatment from a group of poor black men with syphilis
Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality report shows 40% of healthcare quality measures are worse for Black people
Black men with chest pains statistically have to wait longer for an initial EKG than white men
Black women are 2-6x times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women
Black and Mexican Americans aged 35-44 experience untreated tooth decay nearly twice as much as non-Hispanic Whites​
This is an issue caused by multiple factors within society from covert racism within healthcare treatments and training to racist individuals.
How does implicit bias affect healthcare- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze7Fff2YKfM
How can healthcare professionals reduce unconscious bias? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KoTi3LRBXI
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Petition to support medical students who want to declare racism a public health crisis in the US
Petition against the governments proposal to make cuts to healthcare practices like: physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, visual Services, audiology, acupuncture, podiatry, pharmacist services, nurse anesthetist services, screening, intervention, and referral to treatments for opioids and other illicit drugs, incontinence creams and washes, dentistry (large reduction in coverage, not completely cut). 'This budget cut will create an even larger disparity, limiting only the poorest of communit(ies) from having access to medical care that is needed, especially during a pandemic.'
This page contains a petition which focuses on tackling racial disparities present in healthcare by changing the nursing curriculum. It also contains further statistical evidence of inequality as well as links to more information on this issue.
Petition for medical schools to include BAME representation in clinical teachings as this is vital for providing minorities with the same level of care in efforts to bridge racial disparities in the medical field. For example, teaching of skin diagnoses' in patients with dark complexions is not something covered within white normative medical teaching at the moment and so can leave patients with fatal undiagnosed illnesses.
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