Racial categories should have no role in healthcare and research. First of all, race deters health care research because it adds an unnecessary element in the study. Including race distracts researchers and may cause miscalculations. This is because “both historical evidence and contemporary genetic research suggest that ‘racial profiling’ in medicine can lead to serious medical errors” (Rondini et al. 2007: pg. 1423). Not to mention, “mounting evidence indicates that the race of patients can significantly influence the treatment they get (Tashiro 2005: pg. 209). It is our responsibility to notice the flaws within our healthcare system, and any rational person will agree that the power of ‘race’ can only be used against us. Race was used for
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To begin with a simple definition, “the US Institute of Medicine, for example, holds that race should not be considered a biological reality, but rather ‘a construct of human variability based on perceived differences in biology, physical appearance, and behavior’” (Rondini et al. 2007: pg.1424). This definition confirms the fact that race is only determined by how we perceive it to be. Empirical Science and Social Constructs cannot coexist with each other. That is because social constructs are not verifiable unanimously. Moreover, it is subjective because race can also “be established according to culturally defined entities such as geographic location, religion, language, or ancestral characteristics” (Schulman et al. 1995: pg. 182). Thus, how you judge race depends upon the environment in which you were raced in. If for example, the United States, has many different environments, and hence many different views on what exactly race is, imagine how much more complex it gets when someone wants to judge race with a ‘world’ view. Now, how exactly is subjectivity and the concept of race, a social construct, detrimental to the progress of health care research? By looking throughout history, we have to be humble enough to acknowledge that “racial categories can be considered an attempt to extend the taxonomic classification below the …show more content…
This mistrust developed by racial minorities has already occurred, and they have the right to feel that way. A study as recent as 2010 found “physicians were 1.5 times more likely to offer genetic screening/testing to the black patient than to the white patient” (Bonham et al. 2010). To clarify this correlation, “race was the only factor listed by physicians as influencing their decisions to offer testing that was statistically significant between the 2 patients” (Bonham et al. 2010). Now, if patients are not being treated the same way because of their race, isn’t that the very definition of inequality? Consequently, the patient and doctor bond is sabotaged. That is to say, “a legacy of racial discrimination in medical research and the health care system has been linked to a low level of trust in medical research and medical care among African Americans” (Boulware et al. 2003: pg. 358). If African Americans cannot trust their medical providers due to racial inequity, then who can they trust? It is very well known in the academic world that “patterns of trust in components of our health care system differ by race” (Boulware et al. 2003: pg. 358). If this is the case, then the solution is simple. Eliminate race from health care and research. It is no wonder “racial anonymity may enhance African
To begin with a simple definition, “the US Institute of Medicine, for example, holds that race should not be considered a biological reality, but rather ‘a construct of human variability based on perceived differences in biology, physical appearance, and behavior’” (Rondini et al. 2007: pg.1424). This definition confirms the fact that race is only determined by how we perceive it to be. Empirical Science and Social Constructs cannot coexist with each other. That is because social constructs are not verifiable unanimously. Moreover, it is subjective because race can also “be established according to culturally defined entities such as geographic location, religion, language, or ancestral characteristics” (Schulman et al. 1995: pg. 182). Thus, how you judge race depends upon the environment in which you were raced in. If for example, the United States, has many different environments, and hence many different views on what exactly race is, imagine how much more complex it gets when someone wants to judge race with a ‘world’ view. Now, how exactly is subjectivity and the concept of race, a social construct, detrimental to the progress of health care research? By looking throughout history, we have to be humble enough to acknowledge that “racial categories can be considered an attempt to extend the taxonomic classification below the …show more content…
This mistrust developed by racial minorities has already occurred, and they have the right to feel that way. A study as recent as 2010 found “physicians were 1.5 times more likely to offer genetic screening/testing to the black patient than to the white patient” (Bonham et al. 2010). To clarify this correlation, “race was the only factor listed by physicians as influencing their decisions to offer testing that was statistically significant between the 2 patients” (Bonham et al. 2010). Now, if patients are not being treated the same way because of their race, isn’t that the very definition of inequality? Consequently, the patient and doctor bond is sabotaged. That is to say, “a legacy of racial discrimination in medical research and the health care system has been linked to a low level of trust in medical research and medical care among African Americans” (Boulware et al. 2003: pg. 358). If African Americans cannot trust their medical providers due to racial inequity, then who can they trust? It is very well known in the academic world that “patterns of trust in components of our health care system differ by race” (Boulware et al. 2003: pg. 358). If this is the case, then the solution is simple. Eliminate race from health care and research. It is no wonder “racial anonymity may enhance African