Health disparities (module 4 discussion)

Watch the YouTube video below

TED Talk: How Racism Makes Us Sick

STEP 2: Examine Health Education/Promotion Strategies Used to Address Health Disparities

In this TED Talk video, what surprised you the most? What disturbed you the most? What do you think we should do in the United States about health disparities based on race and racism? Please feel free to ask questions about current public health events related to the topic.

STEP 3: Discuss!

Response to your classmate: (choose 2)

Response to Ariel minor:

Can we measure racism?
In the TED Talk “How racism makes us sick,” Dr. David R. Williams investigated the impact of discrimination regarding the race of a person on the matter of healthcare in the country. He starts by describing how black men are more prone to dying prematurely, even when compared to their white counterparts with similar education and income. It was very surprising to see how black people with a college degree have a lower life expectancy than a white person with only a high school degree. The American society was built to always support the white person over all other races, and this racism has caused many repercussions in the health of minorities.

Dr. Williams attributes this gap to stress from dealing with racism and implicit bias from healthcare professionals. He speaks about how there is not a method to measure racism and outlines two factors to consider: “major experiences of discrimination” and “everyday discrimination.” He then goes into how residential segregation and location can determine access to opportunities. It was very disturbing to see how a study found that “in all the cities in the United States, there is not one city where white people live under equal conditions to black people.” Also, learning that “the worst neighborhood where whites reside is better than the average black community” was mind-blowing.

There are several ways in which these health disparities can be reduced. One of them is that more public health resources should be targeted to minority and underserved communities. There should be more health facilities and health education in areas inhabited by the minority. The government should invest more in the public health sector to be able to provide for the underserved minorities. This will help in funding public health activities such as home visiting programs and providing essential primary care services as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this TED talk and found it quite insightful.

Source: Williams, D. R. (2017, May 2). How racism makes us sick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzyjDR_AWzE

Responded to Crowley:

How do we know which type of discrimination is being used against us?

I learned so much from David Williams Ted talk. The information presented was eye-opening. The part that surprised me most was that every 7 minutes a black person dies. I found every fact to be disturbing, but the fact that there isn’t a single city where whites live under equal conditions as black people blew me away. Mr. Williams stated that if we could eliminate residential segregation that it would equalize opportunities in multiple areas for black and white people. Residential segregation was put into effect by the government, so what are they doing about it now? “From the 1960s to the present, the federal government has advanced numerous initiatives with desegregation as an actual or potential objective. Despite the passage of some relatively significant legislations with the potential to affect public housing’s racial composition (e.g., the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974), regulations and programmatic actions to institute such change on a large scale did not ensue.” (Chandler) It seems we need to search for solutions on how to integrate neighborhoods if the effects can be so drastic.

After listening to Mr. Williams discuss ways that he found to measure racism, it had me wonder if perceived racism affects people in the same manner? Mr. Williams questions about “everyday discrimination” include:

1. You are treated with less courtesy than other people are.

2. You are treated with less respect than other people are.

3. You receive poorer service than other people at restaurants or stores.

4. People act as if they think you are not smart.

5. People act as if they are afraid of you.

6. People act as if they think you are dishonest.

7. People act as if they’re better than you are.

8. You are called names or insulted.

9. You are threatened or harassed.

(Everyday Discrimination Scale)

These questions can be rated as: Almost every day, at least once a week, a few times a month, a few times a year, less than once a year, or never. (Everyday Discrimination Scale) Undoubtedly people face racism on the daily, but is it always racism or could it be another form of discrimination? From my own experience I can say that while working at the Credit Union, I could have answered “almost every day”, to questions 2,4,7, and sometimes even 8. The treatment did not come from fellow employees but from members. From these experiences, I felt that the majority of the time it had nothing to do with my race but more to do with the environment, my sex, and my age. Is this the best tool to measure racism, when other forms of discrimination also play a role in how we are treated? How can we separate the difference of discrimination?

References:

Chandler MO. Public Housing Desegregation: What Are the Options? Housing Policy Debate. 3(2):509-534. doi:https://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/hpd_0302_chandler.pdf

Everyday Discrimination Scale. https://scholar.harvard.edu/davidrwilliams/node/32397. Accessed June 24, 2021.

Respond to Arielle Lewis

What can we do about racism in public health?
While watching the video “How racism makes us sick”, I was not shocked that race matters so much when it comes to health. I did not expect it to take such a huge toll on African Americans’ health, in general. The statistics were shocking and disturbing. Even well-educated black people were still less likely to live longer than some white people. It is disheartening to hear about discrimination in medical care. When I go to the hospital or doctor, I would like to receive the best care. It is scary how racism effects so much. I do understand how racism and discrimination can take a toll on someone’s body. Being an African American woman, racism is a lot to deal with and is something that I think about every day. It can make you feel sick to your stomach, and constantly wondering why things are this way. To be discriminated against, and to experience racism is very stressful.

I think the United States should acknowledge the huge role that institutionalized racism plays. There have been laws put into place to prevent things from happening, but it still does not stop individuals from discriminating against one another. My question is, what is there to do about racism, when it is really based off of how an individual wants to act? Even though, there are multiple things put in place where people have an opportunity to be better?

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzyjDR_AWzE