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Racial inequality introduction
Racial inequality introduction
Racial inequality in society introduction essay
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Race Based Medicine an Introduction In a society where one can get on a plane and be halfway around the world in a day, it is likely that everyone has encountered someone who looks different from them, whether it is skin color or other physical features. Some people of course look more alike than others and that is where skin color has been used as a tool to differentiate people from different parts of the world. However, this has led to many horrific situations of racism in the past that resulted in slavery and genocides throughout the world. Race as relating to humans can be defined as “a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock” or “a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics” or even “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits” (Merriam Webster Online). With all of these varying definitions of race it is easy to see how problems arise because of it. So what is race based medicine? Race based medicine is “the practice of using race or ethnic origin as a distinguishing feature of populations or individuals seeking health” (Cohn 552). This practice can be seen in the clinic, especially with certain diseases like sickle cell anemia which is more prevalent in black populations, cystic fibrosis which is increasingly common in people of north European descent, and finally Tay-Sachs disease which is highly associated with Ashkenazi Jewish populations (Collier 752). As with many topics there are people that have taken a stand on either side of the race based medicine debate. There are those scientists who are on the side that “understanding the unique patterns of genes across patient populations defined by race will help identify population... ... middle of paper ... ...ll 2006, p 497-499. Cohn, Jay N., The Use of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine: Lessons from the African-American Heart Failure Trial, J.L. Med. & Ethics, Race and Ethnicity, Fall 2006, p 552-554. Collier Roger, A race-based detour to personalized medicine, CMAJ. April 17, 2012 vol. 184 no. 7, p E351–E353. Collier Roger, Race and genetics in the doctor’s office, CMAJ. April 17, 2012 vol. 184 no. 7, p 752-753. Fine, Michael J., Ibrahim, Said A., Thomas, Stephen B., The Role of Race and Genetics in Health Disparities Research, American Journal of Public Health, Dec. 2005, Vol. 95, No. 12, p 2125-2128. "Race." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. . Roberts DE. What's Wrong with Race-Based Medicine?: Genes, Drugs, and Health Disparities. Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology. 2011;12(1):1-21.
Jewelll, N., & Russell, K. (1992). Current health status of african americans. Journal of community health nursing, 9(3), 161-169.
Health Disparities and Racism is an ongoing problem that is reflected among society. Health is when an individual is physically, mentally and social well being is complete. However health disparities seems to be a social injustice within various ethnicities. Health disparities range from age, race, income, education and many other things. Even though we realize health disparities are more noticeable depending on the region of country where they live in. Racism is one of the most popular factors, for why it’s known that people struggle with health.
Does racism still exist today? Although many believe it was a problem in the past, it still exists today. Many People are still not aware that it still exists in our workforces, especially in medical field. Although racism in medicine can be very offense, it can sometimes be beneficial and help reveal differences in diseases based on genetic make up. These differences can be taken in the wrong manner and can lead to social problems especially if these distinctions are thought of as ethnic differences. In Gregg M. Bloche’s article. “Race, Money and Medicine”, he states that we should erase racial categories from medicine but only use them if they are beneficial for the patient’s health. Peter Clark, author of “Prejudice and the Medical Profession: A Five Year Update”, explains that racial categories should be understood because understand these different can be beneficial. Lynne D. Richardson and Marlaina Norris, authors of “Access to Health and Health Care: How Race and Ethnicity Matter”, also believe that these differences can be beneficial but want to improve the health are because they know a majority of minorities do not receive proper health care and treatment. Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, pays attention to the fact that her character, Henrietta Lacks, was not given the proper treatment and care she should have. Although Henrietta’s cells were beneficial to cancer research , she never once gave consent to the doctor’s to distribute her cells. She was taken advantage of because of her race and low income. Minorities’ opinions and beliefs should be taken into perspective because they often feel neglected which causes a sense of “distrust”. There has been a vast history of racism in the ...
Paul, D.A., Locke, R., Zook, K., Leef, K.H., Stefano, J.L. & Colmorgan, G. (2006). Racial
Schaefer, R. (Ed.). (2012). Racial and ethnic groups. (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
On November 11th, 2004, NitroMed, a Massachusetts based pharmaceutical company published a study on the effects of a new drug called BiDil in treating heart failure among African Americans in the New England Journal of Medicine (Taylor 2049). Since announcing the study, NitroMed’s research has sparked controversy surrounding the ethical implications and scientific evidence of race-based medicine. This study marks a breakthrough in race-based drug treatments as the first pharmaceutical ever researched, endorsed and targeted for a single ethnic group (Pollack 1). The racially-specific pharmaceutical initiative is a product of tremendous government funding allotted by the Clinton administration to the Human Genome Project at the turn of the millennium. Since then, much medical research has focused on understanding the human genome in search of genetic explanations for health problems while funding and interest have decreased in social-related health research and medical programs for poor and underserved populations (Braun 162).
Studies have analyzed how African Americans deal with an enormous amount of disease, injury, death, and disability compared to other ethnic group, and whites, Utilization of health services by African Americans is less frequent than other ethnic groups in the country. This non utilization of services contributes to health disparities amongst African Americans in the United States. Current and past studies have shown that because of discrimination, medical mistrust, racial/ethnic background, and poor communication African Americans tend to not seek medical care unless they are in dire need or forced to seek professional care. African Americans would rather self –medicate than to trust a doctor who might show some type of discriminatory
The Tuskegee case and the San Antonio Contraceptive study are both instances in which physicians showed a disregard for patient well-being because these patients where part of disenfranchised minority groups. Researchers in the Tuskegee case rationalized their deceit of these patients due to the patients, in their eyes, not being responsible enough to complete treatment. As is clear from their writing in the paper Untreated Syphilis in the Male Negro, these researchers view their patients as an “other”, frequently referring to them as “the negro” and the “the rural negros”, as if they were animals rather than people. Similarly, in the San Antonio study Mexican-American women were provided placebo birth-control pills to discern whether reported side-effects were in fact due to the drugs. Robert Veatch’s criticism of the study elucidates the study’s racist nature succinctly “Will the astute scientist now ask whether the same results would be obtained among upper-middle class women – say researchers ' wives?” The study had been performed on a marginalized community to benefit more elite subjects without having to subject them to the possible harm. It is clear from these cases that in some instances, racism can impact a physician’s willingness to engage in unethical
Racial disparities in The United States health care system are widespread and well documented. Social and economic inequalities between racial minorities and their white counter parts have lead to lower life expectancy rates, higher infant mortality rates, and overall poorer health for people of color. As the nation’s population continues to become increasingly diverse, these disparities are likely to grow if left unaddressed. The Affordable Care Act includes various provisions that specifically aim to reduce inequalities for racially and ethnically marginalized groups. These include provisions in the Senate bill and House bill that aim to expand coverage, boost outreach and education programs, establish standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate practices, and diversify the health care workforce. The ACA, while not a perfect solution for eliminating health disparities, serves as an important first step and an unprecedented opportunity to improve health equity in the United States.
The office of minority health. (2013). U.S. department of health & human service. Retrieved from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=11
Williams, D. R., & Jackson, P. (2014, April 1). Health Affairs. Social Sources Of Racial Disparities In Health. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/2/325.short
According to the institute of Medicine (IOM), racism is a problem in the health care system, that is, the difference between the quality of health care received by minorities and non-minorities is due to racism. IOM is a nonprofit organization that advises the federal government and the public on science policy. It released a report that on average, minorities receive a lower quality of care, even when factors such as income and type of health insurance are accounted for. The report by IOM states that racial stereotypes and prejudice are the cause of the health care disparities. The article by IOM points ...
Despite the substantial developments in diagnostic and treatment processes, there is convincing evidence that ethnic and racial minorities normally access and receive low quality services compared to the majority communities (Lum, 2011). As such, minority groups have higher mortality and morbidity rates arising from both preventable and treatable diseases judged against the majority groups. Elimination of both racial and ethnic disparities is mainly politically sensitive, but plays an important role in the equitable access of services, including the health care ones without discrimination. In addition, accountability, accessibility, and availability of equitable health care services are crucial for the continually growing
Townsend, P., Whitehead, M. and Davidson, N. (eds) (1992) Inequalities in Health: the Black Report and the health divide, Harmondsworth, Penguin.
Cockerham (p.94) explains how racial inequalities in the United States can effect a person 's health. Some ethnicities such as Asians, are known for having great health and life expectancies, where as African Americans may experience many health issues and have shorter life spans. White Americans and Black Americans life span are different because African Americans are known for having disadvantages with health issues such as AIDS, cancer, and heart disease.