Abstract
This paper explores the historical implications of race in American society that have led to implicit racism in the healthcare system. Racial bias in healthcare against Black people is a factor in the health disparities between Black and white people in America, such as the gap in life expectancy, infant death, and maternal mortality. Black people are more likely to report racial discrimination from healthcare providers, which is a reason for the decreased quality of care received. The past justifications of slavery, the Tuskegee syphilis study, and the medical experimentations on Black women are horrifying but were considered acceptable in those times due to the social hierarchy of race that was employed. This racist nature of American society is at fault for the implicit racism and mistreatment present in medicine now. In the present day, there are stereotypes in media regarding Black people, discrepancies in pain treatment, and disparities in reproductive health of Black women that have stemmed from historical notions. A medical algorithm for allocation of resources also shows evidence of favouring white patients, meaning the entire system is biased. All of these occurrences stem from the racist connotations in the past and have embedded themselves into society to hinder the medical care that Black people receive, which decreases this racial group’s overall health.
Recommended Citation
Almomani, Yasmeen. 2021. "Black and White Health Disparities: Racial Bias in American Healthcare." Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections 5, (1). https://scholars.wlu.ca/bridges_contemporary_connections/vol5/iss1/1
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Anatomy Commons, Anthropology Commons, Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Health and Medical Administration Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Medical Education Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Other Public Health Commons, Pain Management Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Physiology Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Women's Health Commons