Kate Huntress - Women’s Health Section Editor
The article, “Failure to progress: structural racism in women’s healthcare” highlights the dichotomy between women’s healthcare and lack of progress toward racial equity. Specifically, healthcare in America continuously fails to resolve the issue of adverse reproductive health outcomes in racially underrepresented communities. Minorities in the US are significantly more likely to experience preterm birth, death during childbirth, unintended pregnancies, as well as delays in abortion care. These disparities heighten the distrust that has been built for years when it comes to healthcare providers, and they demonstrate the plaguing reach that structural racism has in the healthcare system. Structural racism is defined as, “the totality of ways in which societies foster racial discrimination through mutually reinforcing systems of housing, education, employment, earnings, benefits, credit, media, health care and criminal justice. These patterns and practices in turn reinforce discriminatory beliefs, values and distribution of resources.”
Health disparities in America as a result of racial inequity are part of a mountain of a problem. Many state that they have not felt heard or acknowledged for their concerns, not to mention the disproportionate percentage of minority childbirths going awry compared to White women. However, it seems that awareness of the continuous disparity is our greatest weapon and that knowledge really is power. It is important for the public to realize that there is an evident disparity when it comes to reproductive and women’s health access in minorities. Being aware of this fact is paramount to providers as they aim to address their intrinsic biases and become more cognizant of when their peers aren’t doing the same. Being able to identify instances where racial inequity is evident is what is needed so that healthcare providers can begin to hold each other accountable.
References
Averbach, S., Ha, D., Meadows, A., Brubaker, L., & Gyamfi-Bannerman, C. (2023). Failure to progress: structural racism in women’s healthcare. EClinicalMedicine, 57, 101861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101861
Comments