Racism has been experienced in several situations in the healthcare sector. Studies demonstrate that social inequality and racism are obstacles that make it difficult for black people in the US to get effective medical care, which directly impacts their health (Sim et al., 2021; Hamed et al., 2022).
For instance, racism was experienced in Seattle when a medical professional declined to examine a woman in the hospital. The woman was pregnant, and her delivery was less sedated with anesthesia therapy. Moreover, another case of racism was experienced when a man whose hair prompted a question regarding the efficacy of dermatological shampoo. The patients in all of these accounts, which could all be isolated facts, are black. In 2020, the cases and instances of racism in healthcare rose by 16% from 2018; there were notable instances of racism in various spheres of health (Hamed et al., 2022). Sadly, there were many instances of violence and prejudice against black people in the healthcare industry. This lowers life expectancy; it is predicted that white people live around three years longer on average than black people do.
Healthcare providers should work hard to devise measures to combat racism in healthcare. Some ways to combat racism in healthcare include creating a national policy to protect against racism in healthcare among the affected groups in the community. For instance, Brazil implemented the National Policy for the Comprehensive Health of the Black Population in 2009 to combat institutional racism in the Unified Health System. The intervention against racism shows that 11.9% of blacks have been protected from discrimination and racism in the healthcare services in the country (Freitas et al., 2021). Second, healthcare providers should establish accountability frameworks such as equity scorecards to collect patient ratings on the services of their physicians who have attended them. This will ensure that healthcare providers uphold medical ethics and combat racism.
References
Freitas Goes, E., de Souza Menezes, G. M., de Almeida, C., da Conceição, M., Velho Barreto-de-Araújo, T., Valongueiro Alves, S.,… & Maria, E. (2021). Barriers in Accessing Care for The Consequence of Unsafe Abortion by Black Women: Evidence of Institutional Racism in Brazil. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 8(6), 1385-1394. Web.
Hamed, S., Bradby, H., Ahlberg, B. M., & Thapar-Björkert, S. (2022). Racism in Healthcare: A Scoping Review. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1-22. Web.
Sim, W., Lim, W. H., Ng, C. H., Chin, Y. H., Yaow, C. Y. L., Cheong, C. W. Z.,… & Chong, C. S. (2021). The Perspectives of Health Professionals and Patients on Racism in Healthcare: A Qualitative Systematic Review. Plos One, 16(8), e0255936. Web.