We Need to Talk About Racism in the Medical Industry
Since writing my article about acknowledging womxn’s pain and the gender health gap, I regret and am sorry that my piece was told purely from my own perspective and experience. I am a white, cis, heterosexual person who is shrouded in privilege and it’s unacceptable that I did not address this, because the simple fact is, that it takes Black Folx and People of Colour a hell of a lot longer to have their pain believed or to access effective healthcare due to racism in the medical industry.
There are shocking inequalities in healthcare based on race, with racism being the route cause. Black patients are routinely undertreated for pain with a study in 2012 discovering that they were 22% less likely to receive pain medication and 29% less likely to be given opioid pain relief. A further study of 200 white medical students conducted in 2016 uncovered that over half believed that Black patients did not feel as much pain as white patients due to the thickness of their skin. This study concluded that due to this incorrect and racist belief that half of those students would treat Black patients differently to white patients when it came to pain management. But it’s not just Black adults, a 2015 study looking into the use of pain medication amongst children for appendicitis found that Black children were three times less likely than white children to receive opioids in accident and emergency rooms.
Most recently we have seen the devastating impact of racial bias with the Coronavirus disproportionality impacting Black Folx and People of Colour. Latest statistics indicate that if you are Black in the UK, you are four times more likely to die than if you are white. In America alone, 23% of the deaths from Covid-19 have been from members of the African American community even though this community makes up 13% of the population. The USA’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci openly stated that the pandemic was, ‘shining a bright light,’ into the unacceptable health disparities that existed in the USA due to race.
Disparity statistics amongst Black womxn are alarming. In the UK, Black womxn have a five times higher rate of maternity death than their white counterparts. To put this into context, for every 10,000 births 8 white womxn die, for every 10,000 births involving Black womxn, 40 will lose their life. Such a huge disparity deserves urgent investigation and action, in 2019 the Royal College of Midwives called for a national strategy to help ensure improvements and support, but considering the lives lost, why was this only called for in 2019? There is currently a petition demanding the UK parliament investigate and improve maternal healthcare for Black womxn in the UK, you can sign it here.
Black womxn are also routinely left out of medical studies and research. In America the FDA recorded that less than 5% of the womxn included in cancer medical trials since 2015 have been Black. Another study found that 80% of people included in genomic studies are white, showing a dangerous lack of diversity and inclusion.
The condition of Endometriosis, which is a chronic inflammatory disease in which tissue similar to the endometrium is discovered growing outside the uterus, was traditionally believed to be a disease that only affected white womxn. This theory came about in the 1930’s after a prominent gynaecologist from Boston, Dr Joseph Meigs, linked the disease to affluent white womxn who delayed pregnancy. These conclusions had no scientific merit and were based off his patient population, which you guessed it, was white and affluent. But his damaging theory has persisted. This means that many Black womxn or People of Colour often are left without a diagnosis or adequate treatment. A study conducted in 2019 found that Black and Hispanic womxn were half as likely to receive an Endometriosis diagnosis than white or Asian womxn. Accessing a diagnosis for Endometriosis is hard enough, with the average delay in diagnosis from the onset of symptoms being 7-10 years, but for Black Womxn and Womxn of Colour, accessing a diagnosis and treatment is even more difficult.
Endo Black is an amazing organisation that advocates for African American Womxn and Womxn of Colour with Endometriosis. It was set up in 2015 by Lauren R Kornegay, to help provide a safe space for Womxn of Colour with Endo to connect. The organisation actively holds seminars and workshops on endometriosis in the African American Community, establishes support groups, runs an Endo Black Ambassador Programme to raise awareness of the disease and advocates in the community for African American Womxn and Womxn of Colour. It also raises awareness amongst medical professions to help Black Womxn and Womxn of Colour access a diagnosis. Donations help make this amazing work possible, if you are able to help, check out how you can here.
The simple fact of the matter is, that there are implicit biases in the medical industry based on race and gender that directly affect the care that patients receive, this is not a statement; it is a fact. This has a devastating impact on patients, their loved ones and their communities. The more we learn and know about the disparity in healthcare based on race, we cannot be silent. Use your voice! Sign petitions, challenge your MPs in parliament, attend protests if you can, donate to Black charities, support Black businesses and amplify Black voices. The time is now, to challenge and raise awareness of racism in healthcare and to demand that everyone gets equal access to the treatment and compassion they deserve.
Sarah’s next piece will be a follow up interview with a womxn who has directly experienced the impact of racism in healthcare. This will be posted next month.
Written by Sarah Rose
Sarah Rose is a freelance writer from Belfast who writes about all things pelvic pain. She uses her Instagram platform mypelvicpain to share her journey with endometriosis and raise awareness around this condition and its impact on her life. Sarah’s sole aim is to help others and ensure that no one ever has to suffer in silence again.