The Power and Influence of Race in
Society, Health, and Medicine
From his quote about race being a
“biological fiction,” Freund shows that race, in this case biological race, is
a fabricated concept that does not really exist. From this view, then, I think
that Haney-Lopez would agree. While Haney-Lopez argues that biological is a
myth, though, he still stresses the importance of race in the United States and
the role it plays in classifying people. Haney-Lopez states, “I agree that
there is a significant overlap between race and culture, or in my formulation,
community”[1]
It is important to note, however, that Haney-Lopez’s claim that “ideas about
race… carry tremendous political, economic, and cultural power,” is true,
especially for the issues prevalent in health and medicine. This is exemplified
through the inequalities that exist for minorities, either as patients or staff,
in both health and medicine and how factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, and
class all play a role in these inequalities. As the Institute of Medicine
shows, “[t]hree mechanisms might be operative in healthcare disparities… bias
(or prejudice) against minorities; greater clinical uncertainty when
interacting with minority patients; and beliefs (or stereotypes) held by the
provider about the behavior or health of minorities.”[2]
Likewise, for minorities working in the medical field, trends of isolation in
the workplace, stereotyping and racism exhibited by fellow coworkers, and
socioeconomic differences are all present.
From the various readings of this
assignment, I want to learn more about the inequalities that exist for
minorities as both patients and workers in the medical field. Furthermore, I
want to investigate in further detail the implications of race in the medical
field and how minorities and their health have been and still are affected.
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