Introduction
Nations and individuals will do everything within their abilities to ensure human health is given the first priority. Wellness is an important human need that must be taken care of despite all other challenges like poor economy, availability of food and security. People cannot do constructive work when they are unhealthy; therefore, it is an indispensable aspect in life (Dreifus 2).
Consequently, various organizations have established departments to conduct research and present ways of improving human life through nutrition, treatment and measures to prevent diseases. One of the most controversial ways of managing diseases is through race-based medicine. This paper supports the argument that scientists and doctors should develop and use race-based medicine.
Definition
Race-based medicine refers to all drugs and prescriptions given to individuals based on their skin color and area of ancestral origin (Isaac 3). Scientists and doctors use these distinctions to determine the prescription to give an individual. Even though, this issue has faced a lot of criticism from sociologists it still remains a viable option for treating chronic diseases. The following reasons support this argument.
Race is a Sociological and Not a Scientific Concept
Even though, people define race according to the skin color of individuals this has been amplified by sociologists to mean other factors. The origin of racial discrimination dates back to the age when slavery used to thrive and people used to manage their issues with reference to racial considerations.
In addition, colonialism played a significant role in promoting racial stereotypes that have played significant roles in creating racial disparities (Isaac 64). For instance, most people born before the 21st century experienced various forms of oppression based on racial preferences.
This period was marked by an increase in the gap between whites and blacks as the former sought to outdo their counterparts in various issues. There was a serious struggle between these two races as they tried to seek identity and own various resources (Dreifus 4). This period is know to have developed the origins of racial discriminations and laid a fertile future for conflicts between these races.
Therefore, mass actions and protests gained a different face and people mistook this for racial differences. However, diseases do not recognize that an individual is white or black. They attack everybody who is exposed to them and patients must seek medical attention irrespective of their races (Isaac 3).
Race-based medicine ensures that scientists develop effective remedies for treatment of various diseases that affect human beings. Recent research has established that some races are prone to some diseases and this call for different approaches to manage these conditions. Therefore, this medicine should be developed to ensure these diseases are managed.
Doctors Just Want to Pick the Right Drug for the Right Patient
A significant medical principle recognizes the need for patients to consult medical practitioners before taking drugs. Doctors will examine them and prescribe drugs that will help them to recover their health (Dreifus 2). This means that all physicians have knowledge and skills regarding different diseases and their cures. Patients go to hospitals because they do not have adequate skills to identify what is good for them. However, doctors have trained on various diseases and have adequate experience to treat different ailments (Isaac 72).
This means they are better placed than any other people to handle different ailments. A parent takes his child to school to ensure he gets quality education and becomes a productive person in the future and a broken car is taken to a mechanic to be repaired. The teacher and mechanic have experience, skills, knowledge and education to manage the problems presented to them. In the same way, it does not matter what the doctor prescribes to an individual provided it works to alleviate the problem.
The development and research conducted on the effects of a controversial drug called BiDil revealed that it reduced the number of deaths of the black Americans in a significant way than their counterparts (Dreifus 3). This means that instead of using this drug to cure the disease of the white Americans it should be used in their counterparts.
This will minimize unnecessary expenses in treating diseases that will not be cured. In addition, the research opened ways for scientists and doctors to continue doing research to identify what will be effective in treating heart conditions of the white Americans. This narrowed down their research to base on issues that were not considered in the previous research.
Race-based medicine is the best approach of handling chronic diseases that have different presentations in different races. Therefore, doctors must be given opportunities to use their knowledge to treat these diseases. People have never complained about the dosages prescribed to them by doctors since they trust that the drugs will cure them (Isaac 102).
This means there is no need to argue about race-based medicine developed to cure diseases. In addition, the process is aimed at helping the sick people to recover from their conditions and not to worsen them. Therefore, they should be given opportunities to explore all possibilities available in race-based medicine as a remedy for alleviating the effects of chronic ailments.
Don not Avoid a Drug that could Save Your Life
Death is an irreversible occurrence and this makes many people to fear it. They will do anything and pay any amount of money to ensure they are alive for a very long time. People have traveled to different places to look for cures for their diseases. At the moment HIV/AIDS is a very challenging condition since it does not have a cure.
When the cure for this condition will be discovered people will cure for long hours and spend a lot of money to get it (Dreifus 4). This means that people are ready to do all it will take them to get well. Scientists conduct research that will offer answers to the problems that people face in their daily lives.
This means that they will sacrifice their lives and conduct risky experiments to develop cures for different diseases. This means that they are motivated by the need to save lives at the expense of their lives (Dreifus 3). Patients should appreciate these efforts by taking drugs developed to cure their disease. It is very unwise to refuse a drug because it was developed on a racial-based research.
Conclusion
Race-based drugs are specifically developed to cure diseases of patients from different racial groups. Therefore, it should not be viewed from a sociological perspective since it is a good development towards managing chronic diseases like diabetes and blood pressure. In addition, scientists and doctors cannot develop or prescribe drugs that will affect human life but instead they will struggle to save people from diseases. Patients should never ignore drugs that will help them even if they are based on racial issues.
Works Cited
Dreifus, Claudia. A Conversation with Troy Duster. A Sociologist Confronts ‘The Messy Stuff’. New York Times 18 Oct. 2005. Print.
Isaac, Lydia. Race, Ethnicity, and Health: A Public Health Reader. New Jersey: Jossey – Bass, 2012. Print.