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Discrimination: A Social Determinant Of Health Inequities

It is well understood that stress is a significant predictor of poor mental and physical health and health-harming behaviors, such as alcohol and substance use, poor sleep, and so forth. The unequal distribution of stressors is believed to be a key mechanism that explains health disparities among socially disadvantaged communities. However, researchers and communities alike know that groups such as sexual and gender minorities, women, lower-income people, and communities of color, also face another important stressor more frequently than other groups: discrimination.

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 Medical Myths About Gender Roles Go Back to Ancient Greece. Women Are Still Paying the Price Today

We are taught that medicine is the art of solving our body’s mysteries. And we expect medicine, as a science, to uphold the principles of evidence and impartiality. We want our doctors to listen to us and care for us as people. But we also need their assessments of our pain and fevers, aches and exhaustion, to be free of any prejudice about who we are. We expect, and deserve, fair and ethical treatment regardless of our gender or the color of our skin. But here things get complicated. Medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is every bit as social and cultural as it is scientific. It is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives not just of physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has not marched forward just in laboratories and benches, lectures and textbooks; it has always reflected the realities of the changing world and the meanings of being human.

 Racism and discrimination in health care: Providers and patients

We now recognize that racism and discrimination are deeply ingrained in the social, political, and economic structures of our society. For minorities, these differences result in unequal access to quality education, healthy food, livable wages, and affordable housing. In the wake of multiple highly publicized events, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum, and with it have come more strident calls to address this ingrained, or structural, racism, as well as implicit bias.

 The Myths That Helped Fuel Inequality in our Healthcare System

The history of healthcare in America is sadly one of unequal treatment based on race. Aiding and abetting this status quo are a series of pernicious myths about so-called “biological differences” between black and white people. From the Oprah Winfrey documentary "The Color of Care."

 Women’s health concerns are dismissed more, studied less

This female physician has seen too many women frustrated in their efforts to attain wellness. Her prescription for a remedy: Women must speak up. There’s plenty to fault in the medical care, treatment, research, and support that are available to the female half of humanity. But there also are reasons for optimism...

Articles of Interest

A Brief History of Healthcare Discrimination: What Company Leaders Should Know

Unfortunately, the United States has a long-standing history of discriminatory healthcare practices. Discrimination destroys trust in the health system, which translates into no or lower-quality care. Stereotypes based on false beliefs have driven an imbalance in health coverage between specific groups of employees. And a lack of multi-lingual care means we’ve failed to provide non-English speakers with adequate healthcare coverage

A racist society is detrimental to your health

From chronic stress to cancer, racial discrimination weathers Black Americans’ lives over time.

Bad Medicine: The Harm That Comes From Racism

Racial bias still affects many aspects of health care.

Diversity and Discrimination in Health Care

The United States is a diverse country and a place for people of all backgrounds. However, discrimination against individuals and groups belonging to minority identities persists, leading to negative outcomes for patients and healthcare professionals. Clinicians are responsible for addressing inequity in the medical profession, a part of the American healthcare system. Several decades ago, diversity and discrimination were considered terms within social justice or social movements. However, in recent years, there has been a notable shift in focus within the healthcare field towards understanding and addressing social determinants of health

Doctors and Racial Bias: Still a Long Way to Go

It would be easy to look at a photo from the 1980s and conclude that things have changed. Many have not.

Doctors Who Are Mothers Talk About Workplace Discrimination

The stress of being treated differently than their colleagues doesn’t just hurt them—it hurts patient care.

Facing the uncomfortable possibility that healthcare is discriminatory

When trying to understand the causes of health inequalities, there has too often been a complacent tendency to look at factors that set minority groups apart, rather than face the more uncomfortable possibility that the healthcare system itself is discriminatory.

How Discrimination in Health Care Affects Older Americans, and What Health Systems and Providers Can Do

Racial and ethnic discrimination has a significant impact on the health of people of color, affecting mental health and contributing to high blood pressure, negative health behaviors, and early aging. For Black older adults, the cumulative effects of race-related stress experienced over the course of a life can increase the risk for mental and physical health problems.

How some doctors discriminate against patients with disabilities

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with professor of medicine at Harvard Lisa Iezzoni about a new study in the journal Health Affairs that finds some doctors don't want patients with disabilities.

How ‘Weathering’ Contributes to Racial Health Disparities

For Arline Geronimus, avoiding the limelight had become a way of life. Three decades ago, she put forward an idea that was unconventional for the time: that the constant stress of living within a racist society could lead to poor health for marginalized groups.

Leading the Fight to Address Health Inequities

Vaccines, diabetes, hypertension and beyond—underserved communities often struggle to receive equitable healthcare.

Patient-Reported Experiences of Discrimination in the US Health Care System

In this nationally representative cross-sectional survey study, 21% of 2137 US adult survey respondents indicated that they had experienced discrimination in the health care system, and 72% of those who had experienced discrimination reported experiencing it more than once. Racial/ethnic discrimination was the most frequently reported type of discrimination respondents experienced.

Racism poses public health threat to millions worldwide, finds report

This article is more than 1 year old Racism poses public health threat to millions worldwide, finds report This article is more than 1 year old Discrimination has ‘profound’ effect on health of disadvantaged people, says Lancet review Andrew Gregory Health editor Thu 8 Dec 2022 18.30 EST Share Racism is a “profound” and “insidious” driver of health inequalities worldwide and poses a public health threat to millions of people, according to a global review. Racism, xenophobia and discrimination are “fundamental influences” on health globally but have been overlooked by health researchers, policymakers and practitioners, the series published in the Lancet suggests.

Study Finds Women Doctors Face a Stunning Amount of Discrimination

The most common forms of discrimination the doctors reported were disrespectful treatment by staff, exclusion from administrative decision making, and unequal pay; 31.5 percent of doctors who faced maternity discrimination said they were receiving less money or benefits than their male coworkers.

The Long History of Discrimination in Pain Medicine

X-rays and other “objective" instruments influenced controversies about whose pain should be believed.

The Many Forms of Mental Illness Discrimination

Discrimination against people with mental illness is widespread. It can be highly detrimental to reaching and staying in recovery. At times, as sad as it may be, the best way for us to manage discrimination is to know it exists, be prepared for it and know how to safeguard our rights.

Two-thirds of women report bias or discrimination in Australian healthcare in national survey

Report also found bias in illnesses where women present differently to men, such as heart disease and neurodiverse conditions.

U.S. Medical Schools Are Struggling to Overcome Centuries of Racism in Health Care

Centuries ago, enslaved Black people were forced into medical research, at times withstanding procedures without proper pain medication so that white doctors could learn about the human body. Modern medicine was “built on bodies that were Black, enslaved, had no autonomy, were abused and misused,” says Dr. Rachel Bervell, who runs the Black ObGyn Project, an initiative dedicated to anti-racism in medicine.

What It Was Like to Be Denied Medical Care Because of My Gender

Transgender people require healthcare just like everyone else. We are not asking for special privileges; we just want to have the same access to medical care all Americans are guaranteed under law.

What ‘Racism Is a Public Health Issue’ Means

Epidemiologist Sharrelle Barber discusses the racial inequalities that exist for COVID-19 and many other health conditions.

When Racism Anchors Your Health

An exploration of health disparities in America shows that even if you’re a black American in 2018 with a sound bank account, you can’t buy whiteness.

Why Discrimination is a Health Issue

What does the pervasiveness of discrimination mean for health? Social scientist David Williams explains the physiological response to stress and why a good education or high-paying job doesn't necessarily protect from its effects.

Why is weight discrimination still legal?

Why weight still isn’t a protected class at the federal level, and why it matters.

Resources

1 in 5 women report mistreatment from medical staff during pregnancy

Forty-five percent of respondents said they were hesitant to approach their provider with questions or concerns during maternity care. They cited reasons such as thinking or being told by friends or family that what they were concerned about was normal, not wanting to be seen as difficult or making a big deal of something or feeling embarrassed, or thinking their provider seemed to be in a hurry.

The Black ObGyn Project

We are Black ObGyn doctors on our journey through residency while promoting anti-racism, equity & inclusion.