By Ashley Rodriguez
With covid-19 often being the highlight in our daily news we now question which communities encounters covid the most, which are treated more unfairly. The more we ask these questions we can look back and see that racial disparities are not new but in fact increasing. According to an analysis on MedRxiv african americans are more likely to die of covid than white americans.
Although articles are oftenly peer reviewed, it has been stated and well documented that Bipoc are diagnosed with asthma diabetes and obesity at a much higher rate than whites. Covid has taken a toll on many of our communities especially our bipoc communities, who face greater risks when it comes to mental health as well. Members of these communities are also more likely to live in multigenerational households and apartment buildings, making social distancing more difficult and allowing COVID to spread quickly.
Research indicates that people of color are far more likely to receive poor quality care and less likely to seek services. Upon racial disparities, an example of this is how black men are often overdiagnosed with schizophrenia. BIPOC are also underdiagnosed and undertreated for chronic pain disorders, such as fibromyalgia and migraine. Although people of color have medical history on file disabled bipoc are more likely to be faced with added suspicion or stigma for invisible disabilities. With stereotypes taking the place of calling people “angry” and “aggressive” bipoc people are seen with bias instead of normal human beings.
Bipoc also faces cultural barriers when it comes to mental health. They are delayed from seeking care. There is often a silence about mental illness. They are told to work out their issues or that their illness simply does not exist. South asians have the lowest rate of utilization of mental health services according to newrepublic.com. Taking mental health days or breaks are seen as weaknesses. To make matters worse there is also a sense of fear and mistrust of treatment when it comes to their health.
Mental health was also given unfair titles during the 1800s. For example,
In 1851 a physician, Samuel Cartwright defined “drapetomania” as a treatable mental illness that caused black slaves to flee captivity. This illness was a coincidence getting close and from treating African Americans as equals. And as late as 1914, drapetomania was listed in the Practical Medical Dictionary. Treatment included whipping them. Scientific racism early on indicates motives of control and containment for profitability. Leading health professionals propagated the idea that blacks were “less than” to justify exploitation and experimentation.
With systemic racism creating bad outcomes for our bipoc people. Here are some of many health conditions in Bipoc communities Cancer african american women are 40% more likely to have fatal breast cancer and die twice as much from stomach cancer than white americans. Diabetes Hispanics are 50% more likely to die from diabetes/liver disease than white according to the cdc. African Americans are also 60% more likely to have diabetes than white patients along with fatal complications. Maternal mortality black, american indian, and alaska native women who are over 30 was ⅘ times higher than for white women.
Works Cited:
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/5-studies-that-show-racism-in-healthcare-is-real/ar-BB16e1Fc
- https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2020/07/19/the-burden-and-consequences-of-self-advocacy-for-disabled-bipoc/#:~:text=BIPOC%20are%20also%20underdiagnosed%20and%20undertreated%20for%20chronic,that%20delay%20or%20prevent%20us%20from%20seeking%20care.
- https://www.caredash.com/articles/how-systemic-racism-contributes-to-disparities-in-health
- https://ct.counseling.org/2020/05/the-historical-roots-of-racial-disparities-in-the-mental-health-system
- https://socialwork.simmons.edu/racial-disparities-in-mental-health-treatment/
Medical Wonders 