Effect of Racism in Health Care

This document discusses the effect of racism in health care, focusing on health inequalities and the impact on patients. It explores the concept of cultural competence and the need for culturally safe health care facilities. The document also highlights the importance of addressing racism in order to reduce health disparities.

Running head: EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
Step 1
a)
Health researchers are increasingly exploring on how to eliminate health inequalities
for patients. Racism is an excellent example of a health inequality that is widely experienced
in health care. In most cases, the color of people’s skin is used to define their personality.
According to Bowser (2017), institutional racism is purposefully or unintentional use of
power to separate, misuse, degrade and exploit others. There are different types of racism; it
could either be personal or institutional.
Moreover, discrimination has often as a significant role in causing conflicts between
groups of people. Institutional racism refers to the failure of an organization to provide
required, quality, and professional care (The Lancet, 1999). These failures can be expressed
through; policies of the hospital, allocation of resources, and hiring (Stanhope & Lancaster,
2016). However, private discrimination is characterized by actions, behavior, believes and
attitudes of an individual that is per race preference.
b)
Entitlement arises when a group of individuals can acquire something valuable that is
prohibited to others just because of their complexion (Hobbs, 2018). In this case, most white
people are considered to be a favored since they have well treated as compared to Africans
due to their skin color and the fact that their health is more prioritized compared to others.
The effect of whiteness is triggered by cultural and systematic intensity and practices in a
particular country.
According to Johnstone & Kanitsaki (2007), the welfare of racial and ethnic minority
grouping which includes displaced people is weaker as compared to what they receive in their
own country. Whiteness in healthcare is a symbol of nurses and the nursing profession in
general. Whiteness medical care is universal in today’s society, mainly because people
believe that having a white complexion enables one to possess incredible skills and efficient

EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
thoughts. A lot of arithmetical data explain how whiteness has affected efficiency in the
nursing industry. Cottingham, Johnson & Erickson (2017), argues that women with different
complexion mostly Africans in the nursing industry experience overworking and harsh
discipline.
c)
Encouraging health care facilities to be culturally safe for diverse patients should be a
top priority (Cohen, Gabriel & Terrell, 2002). According to National Aboriginal Health
Organization (2008), there is the need for culture safety in first nation and health care
facilities, which should be matched by training nurses to improve the overall educational
results for Aboriginal students. Purnell (2018) argues that cultural proficiency is having
complete awareness, professionalism, and understanding of the client’s level of civilization.
Acknowledging and honoring cultural distinctions is essential in promoting cultural mélange
and reducing health disparities. However, implementing and examining standards that help
enhance culture and language distinctions in a healthcare facilities is vital (Wynia, Johnson,
McCoy, Griffin & Osborn, 2010).
Similarly, health safety is when a health expert identifies and honors the lifestyle
identities of their clients and adequately meets their targets to fulfill their needs (Mairs-Levy,
2017). Health facilities may be culturally unreliable if their practices decrease and
disempower the welfare of their clients or discriminate different individuals. Organizations
should there be willing to educate the doctors and nurses to ensure that they are culturally
competent. In conclusion, cultural proficiency education for health interventions for
healthcare providers and nursing students is vital for the delivery quality healthcare services
(Lie, Lee-Rey, Gomez, Bereknyei & Braddock, 2010).
Step 2

EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
Attending the lecture helped me gain a better understanding of cultural competence
and Aboriginal people. Moreover, I assumed in countries such as America do not face racism.
The actual truth is that the African American racism is widespread and researchers are
exploring on possible interventions that will diminish health inequalities in health and health
care facilities (Shavers, Klein & Fagan, 2012). Lastly, I also learned that racism is not as a
result of genetics; rather people are discriminated because of their skin color, belief, and
religion (Mendez & Spriggs, 2008).

EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
References
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EFFECT OF RACISM IN HEALTH CARE
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