Essay Sample about African American Women and Inequalities

Alana Biggers a medical doctor states that “racial discrimination permeates our healthcare system in many countries” ( Biggers 1). Including The mistreatment, African American citizens have throughout society. This discrimination has negative impacts not only on patients in healthcare facilities but workers as well. The American healthcare system is very plagued with inequalities, mostly impacted on people of color. These inequalities contribute to gaps in health insurance coverage, non-equal services to other races, and poor care-taking outcomes.

African American women are the main factors experiencing inequality within the health care system. These women no matter the age are dying from preventable pregnancy-related complications, at a three times higher rate than non-Hispanic white women. Adding on, the death rate for black infants is two times higher than infants born from a white woman. Author Jamila Taylor, a woman of economic security noted that “structural racism in healthcare facilities and social services means that African American women often receive poorer quality of meaningful care than any other race” (Taylor 4). When African American women look to seek help when in enduring pain they are less likely to receive care with dignity and respect. These women have been discriminated against for the color of their skin for decades now. With little to no change.

Racism drives disparities in maternal and infant mortality. In the past centuries, many programs that are supporting families in need, such as medicaid, have had a harmful impact on families of color. With these racial disparities, the public attention has not focused on this issue as a public health crisis. The overall crisis is not known due to all the incomplete data, which puts the struggle with African American women at a higher risk for a range of medical conditions that threatens their lives and the infants as well. According to Frontiers Pediatrics, “the doctors in emergency departments are not as likely to classify black children as they require emergency care compared to a white child”  (Frontiers 8). Even though this is going against medical regulations. No matter the race, color, or ethnicity all patients should get the same care.

For hundreds of years, African Americans have endured racism, which has been an ongoing occurrence within the various systems of American society. Racism not race itself is a driving force behind high rates of childbirth complications and death among African Americans. The Darkened color of a patient's skin should not define how a patient should be taken care of, more so, someone in pain needing the workers full blown attention. As part of improving the care, policymakers should also provide sufficient funding to recruit staff and to put into a program to train and recruit health care personnel to serve for all the black communities. They should also start hiring healthcare providers that are substantially trained in cultural humility. The story on “why Black women are less likely to survive pregnancy” by Maria Fernandez states that “ the federal government is now paying attention to these issues and now developing and publicly reporting maternal health quality measures and investing in health research.”(Fernandez 12) With This, it will help improve the on-going problems we are having throughout healthcare.

All in all, offering African American women more choices in birthing options and prenatal care may lead to a more positive and supportive birth, and an even more healthy pregnancy. Health care providers should offer any service to all pregnant women, regardless of the women's source of income level and their insurances. “Being black and pregnant in the U.S. was already a risky combination”. (Fernandez 1). These women should be supported and healthcare workers should help them feel as though they are wanted in the hospital and not be scared to birth their own child. African Americans should believe that they are making the right decisions for themselves throughout any health problems and feel they can go to any health facility with no problems regarding the color of their skin.

Work Cited

“Racism in healthcare: What you need to know” Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M.D., MPH — Written by Mathieu Rees on September 16, 2020

“Why Black women are less likely to survive pregnancy, and what's being done about it “ Published: February 10, 2021.