Deadly racism in healthcare
- added July 8, 2008
- 6 responses
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- AVtime
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After conducting a series of experiments designed to discover what, if any, prejudice doctors hold towards their African-American patients, researchers have concluded that racism may not be the worst consequence blacks face in the emergency room.
Blacks are far less likely to have primary care physicians, leading to more visits to the emergency room, rushed medical care, and longer times spent sick, between symptoms and diagnoses.
"A 2000 study demonstrated that doctors rated black patients as less intelligent, less educated, more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to fail to comply with medical advice, more likely to lack social support, and less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than whites, even after income, education and personality characteristics were taken into account."
Worse still, studies suggest that while doctors may not overtly discriminate between black and white patients, more subtle forms of racism still exist which may very well threaten the lives of African-American patients:
"It turns out the doctors didn't harbor any overt bias or prejudice. But the results of the IAT and the outcome of the heart attack scenario told us something quite different: More doctors subconsciously attributed negative traits to blacks (thinking them "uncooperative" or "bad") than whites. Worse was the way these biases translated into clinical decisions. While doctors diagnosed more blacks with a heart attack, they ended up prescribing treatment for blacks and whites in essentially equal numbers, meaning that black patients having heart attacks were going untreated. Further, as the degree of bias toward blacks increased, so did their likelihood of not getting treated."
Blacks are far less likely to have primary care physicians, leading to more visits to the emergency room, rushed medical care, and longer times spent sick, between symptoms and diagnoses.
"A 2000 study demonstrated that doctors rated black patients as less intelligent, less educated, more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to fail to comply with medical advice, more likely to lack social support, and less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than whites, even after income, education and personality characteristics were taken into account."
Worse still, studies suggest that while doctors may not overtly discriminate between black and white patients, more subtle forms of racism still exist which may very well threaten the lives of African-American patients:
"It turns out the doctors didn't harbor any overt bias or prejudice. But the results of the IAT and the outcome of the heart attack scenario told us something quite different: More doctors subconsciously attributed negative traits to blacks (thinking them "uncooperative" or "bad") than whites. Worse was the way these biases translated into clinical decisions. While doctors diagnosed more blacks with a heart attack, they ended up prescribing treatment for blacks and whites in essentially equal numbers, meaning that black patients having heart attacks were going untreated. Further, as the degree of bias toward blacks increased, so did their likelihood of not getting treated."
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I am quite sure it is there.
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- CarolynGillis
- 3 months ago
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WOW RACISM IS FAR FROM BEING OVER WITH PEOPLE THINK ITS 100% DONE BUT BEHIND THE SCENES IT STILL CONTINUES
WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH MORE RACISIM THERE IS IN OTHER CAREERS??-
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- CroatianPimp
- 3 months ago
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well i hope the participants take the time to reflect on their prejudices take responsibility & learn from them so they can provide the best quality of care to all patients.
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I'm waiting to see how people justify this one. There is a disturbing trend on this site where people concoct justifications for violence and mistreatment against anyone who doesn't fit the WASP archetype. The denial that racism even exists is a petri dish that just cultivates more ignorance. I'm with lulu on this one. I hope this prompts our physicians to take a good long look at themselves and their practices.
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Racism is everywhere but I do not know for sure that doctors will discriminate because of a persons skin colour.
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