Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity
An overwhelming body of evidence points to an inextricable link between race and health disparities in the United States. Although race is best understood as a social construct, its role in health outcomes has historically been attributed to increasingly debunked theories of underlying biological an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/31g3t8kp |
| _version_ | 1827794054554845184 |
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| author | Wendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos Kimberly A. Collins Rosemarie Diaz Herbert C. Duber Courtney D. Edwards Antony P. Hsu Megan L. Ranney Ralph J. Riviello Zachary S. Wettstein Carolyn J. Sachs |
| author_facet | Wendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos Kimberly A. Collins Rosemarie Diaz Herbert C. Duber Courtney D. Edwards Antony P. Hsu Megan L. Ranney Ralph J. Riviello Zachary S. Wettstein Carolyn J. Sachs |
| author_sort | Wendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An overwhelming body of evidence points to an inextricable link between race and health disparities in the United States. Although race is best understood as a social construct, its role in health outcomes has historically been attributed to increasingly debunked theories of underlying biological and genetic differences across races. Recently, growing calls for health equity and social justice have raised awareness of the impact of implicit bias and structural racism on social determinants of health, healthcare quality, and ultimately, health outcomes. This more nuanced recognition of the role of race in health disparities has, in turn, facilitated introspective racial disparities research, root cause analyses, and changes in practice within the medical community. Examining the complex interplay between race, social determinants of health, and health outcomes allows systems of health to create mechanisms for checks and balances that mitigate unfair and avoidable health inequalities. As one of the specialties most intertwined with social medicine, emergency medicine (EM) is ideally positioned to address racism in medicine, develop health equity metrics, monitor disparities in clinical performance data, identify research gaps, implement processes and policies to eliminate racial health inequities, and promote anti-racist ideals as advocates for structural change. In this critical review our aim was to (a) provide a synopsis of racial disparities across a broad scope of clinical pathology interests addressed in emergency departments—communicable diseases, non-communicable conditions, and injuries—and (b) through a race-conscious analysis, develop EM practice recommendations for advancing a culture of equity with the potential for measurable impact on healthcare quality and health outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:27:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c18b315636b24ee28fa29dd32c740492 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1936-900X 1936-9018 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:27:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-c18b315636b24ee28fa29dd32c7404922023-10-13T16:02:12ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine1936-900X1936-90182023-08-0124590691810.5811/westjem.5840858408Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health EquityWendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos0Kimberly A. Collins1Rosemarie Diaz2Herbert C. Duber3Courtney D. Edwards4Antony P. Hsu5Megan L. Ranney6Ralph J. Riviello7Zachary S. Wettstein8Carolyn J. Sachs9Center for Social Justice and Health Equity, Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsTampa General Hospital, Tampa, FloridaUniversity of California-Los Angeles, Department of Emergency Medicine, Los Angeles, CaliforniaUniversity of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Seattle, WashingtonSamford University, Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing, Birmingham, AlabamaTrinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ypsilanti, MichiganYale University, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, ConnecticutUniversity of Texas Health San Antonio, Department of Emergency Medicine, San Antonio, TexasUniversity of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Seattle, WashingtonRonald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center and David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California-Los Angeles, Department of Emergency Medicine, Los Angeles, CaliforniaAn overwhelming body of evidence points to an inextricable link between race and health disparities in the United States. Although race is best understood as a social construct, its role in health outcomes has historically been attributed to increasingly debunked theories of underlying biological and genetic differences across races. Recently, growing calls for health equity and social justice have raised awareness of the impact of implicit bias and structural racism on social determinants of health, healthcare quality, and ultimately, health outcomes. This more nuanced recognition of the role of race in health disparities has, in turn, facilitated introspective racial disparities research, root cause analyses, and changes in practice within the medical community. Examining the complex interplay between race, social determinants of health, and health outcomes allows systems of health to create mechanisms for checks and balances that mitigate unfair and avoidable health inequalities. As one of the specialties most intertwined with social medicine, emergency medicine (EM) is ideally positioned to address racism in medicine, develop health equity metrics, monitor disparities in clinical performance data, identify research gaps, implement processes and policies to eliminate racial health inequities, and promote anti-racist ideals as advocates for structural change. In this critical review our aim was to (a) provide a synopsis of racial disparities across a broad scope of clinical pathology interests addressed in emergency departments—communicable diseases, non-communicable conditions, and injuries—and (b) through a race-conscious analysis, develop EM practice recommendations for advancing a culture of equity with the potential for measurable impact on healthcare quality and health outcomes.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/31g3t8kp |
| spellingShingle | Wendy L. Macias-Konstantopoulos Kimberly A. Collins Rosemarie Diaz Herbert C. Duber Courtney D. Edwards Antony P. Hsu Megan L. Ranney Ralph J. Riviello Zachary S. Wettstein Carolyn J. Sachs Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| title | Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity |
| title_full | Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity |
| title_fullStr | Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity |
| title_short | Race, Healthcare, and Health Disparities: A Critical Review and Recommendations for Advancing Health Equity |
| title_sort | race healthcare and health disparities a critical review and recommendations for advancing health equity |
| url | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/31g3t8kp |
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