Systemic Racism In Canadian Healthcare System

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We, as human beings, should feel safe in healthcare facilities, however, Indigenous People fear healthcare facilities the most. There have been many reports of systemic racism against Indigenous People in Canadian healthcare systems. Systemic racism in healthcare facilities can lead to incidents that can result in adverse events, according to the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Discrimination against Indigenous People has been a recurring event in Canada for quite a while, especially in healthcare. Despite being in the 21st century, Indigenous People still battle systemic racism in Canadian healthcare. This issue needs advocacy for systemic changes to happen in Canadian healthcare. Many healthcare professionals stereotype Indigenous …show more content…

Mistrust among healthcare workers can also stem from generational trauma due to colonial abuse. Due to the discrimination, mistrust, and stereotyping of Indigenous People in healthcare, there have been several deaths from these social issues. One death that shocked the nation was the death of Brian Sinclair due to discrimination and racism from healthcare professionals (Boyer, 2017). The deaths of Brain Sinclair and Joyce Echaquan due to maltreatment of healthcare workers in Canada are clear evidence that Indigenous people still experience racism. Brain Sinclair was a 45-year-old Indigenous man who sadly passed away at the Health Science Centre in Winnipeg (Boyer, 2017). The 34-hour wait Brain had to endure in the waiting area of the emergency department led to his passing away from a curable bladder infection (Boyer, 2017). The death of Joyce Echaquan took place at the Joliette Hospital Center in Lanaundiere, Quebec, was a result of systemic racism from healthcare workers (Council of the Atikamekw of Manawan & Atikamekw Nation Council, 2020). After Joyce’s death, the Council of the Atikamekw of Manawan and the Atikamekw Nation Council proposed Joyce’s Principle in …show more content…

The next aspect is prejudice, which stems from stereotyping and makes it a fixed way of thinking (McGibbon, 2020). The following of prejudice is discrimination, and the actions of prejudice are the responsibility for the actions of discrimination (McGibbon, 2020). The final aspect of the cycle is oppression, and this is usually when systemic power or structural power excludes a group of people from society (McGibbon, 2020). Another strategy for anti-racism involves receiving feedback from Indigenous patients and using that feedback to make structural changes to the healthcare system (Boyer, 2017). One structural change to the healthcare system is incorporating more Indigenous services, specifically for Indigenous People. According to the Government of Canada, hiring more Indigenous health systems navigators will reduce unconscious racism in healthcare and hold more accountability. If there is increased hiring of Indigenous health workers, they can educate other healthcare workers about what racism can be viewed as from an outside

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