Introduction
In 1978, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that health care is a fundamental right of every human being in the globe (Mays et al, 2007). This came about as a result of the increased rates of health disparities. To ensure that every health institution and professional sticks to this new rule, this declaration was published on the WHO constitution and became a professional ethic that professionals in the healthcare industry had to adhere to. However, the level of health disparity has tremendously increased after this amendment was made. This trend has been the same in almost every nation in the world. According to Pieterse and Carter (2010), the United States has the gap of health disparities as compared to other countries of the world (2). This disparity arises on various grounds. This may include race, religion or social class. However, racial discrimination is the construct that represents the highest rate of health disparity in the country with the extremes being exhibited between the White Americans and African Americans (Pieterse and Carter, 2010).
From the studies that have been conducted in the United States, it has been identified that the White Americans have always been favoured as compared to African Americans. From these findings, it will be true to state that African American women receive the lowest quality of health care. This is due to the fact that they come from a society that is highly oppressed with racism and live in a culture that views women as a weaker sex of the community. To support this argument, I focused on a study that was conducted by Pieterse and Carter in the year 2010. In this study, Pieterse and Carter focused on the relationship between racism and racial identity and health locus of control. Their main target group were African American women. The aim of this study was to determine whether racism and racial related attitudes played an important role in the health disparity of African American Women.
Findings and Discussion
The world is changing at a fast rate. This change is affecting every aspect of our lifestyles. The innovations and developments in the field of medicine and nursing have made nursing and medical care to be more effective and efficient. However, for this efficiency to be transferred to the masses of the public, there has to be social, political and economic equality among all the members of the society (Pieterse and Carter, 2010). Therefore, the main setback that nurses are currently facing in the process of provision of health care is racial and cultural differences. From the study that Pieterse and Carter conducted, the individuals who were favoured when it came to the provision of medical care were the members of the White American communities while those who were least favoured were those individuals who were from the African American communities. The study further went on and stated that the most affected individual by this disparity were the women from the African American communities. As a result, African American women are more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases and HIV/AIDS as compared to any other cultural group in the American society. On the other hand, they stand a higher chance of suffering from terminal illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension. They are also likely to receive poor pre-natal care, delivery services and post-natal care.
From the findings of this study, it was evident that racism and racial related attitudes played a critical role in the physical and psychological health of the members of the sample group that was used. The attitudes and perceptions of these individuals are also important factors that lead to the widening of health disparity among the members of a given community. These attitudes and levels of self-esteem have come about as a result of the racism that women from the African American culture have been facing all through their history in the United States. In this study, it was hypothesised that the participants of the study had experienced at least one of the following forms of racism:
- Institutionalized racism
- Personally mediated racism
- Internalized racism
African Americans have for a long time being the victims of institutionalized racism. They have been treated less than fairly on numerous occasions while seeking services that are deemed to be their rights in almost every institution; hospitals being one of them. Several cases that have been documented whereby medical professionals have abused their power and treated the members of this cultural group less than fairly. A good example is the experimental research in Alabama where African American men were used as test subjects to determine the outcome of untreated syphilis condition (Williams and Collins, 2004). Personally mediated racism on the other hand comes from other members of the society who treat minority groups less than fairly. The above two forms of racism then trigger the third form of racism, internalized racism, where an individual develops a low self-esteem as a result of his status in the community. This in turn affects the attitudes and perceptions of an individual (which in this case was African American women). As a result, such an individual may develop a negative attitude towards the health system and medical profession. This in turn reduces his/her level of health control. As a result, they become prone to more diseases (Keppel, 2007).
It is therefore the role of a nurse to end the health disparities among the members of various cultures in the United States and the world at large. Through the knowledge and skills that they posses, nurses stand at a position where by they are able to influence the acts that lead to institutionalized and personally mediated racism in the medical profession. To achieve this, it will be essential for nurses to create awareness on cross-cultural issues. This will ensure that all professionals in the medical arena understand the needs and requirements of individuals who come from different cultures and backgrounds. However, this will require the modification of the nursing education, practice, policies and ethics with regards cultural care of clients (Giddings, 2005). This will in turn lead to the elimination of discrimination and marginalization of health medical services. In addition, it is the role of nurses to ensure that every individual in the society is aware and understands their rights and privileges with regards to the provision of medical services. To achieve this, nurses should organize rallies, clinics and forums for awareness creation and sensitization of the public. This is an effective tool in changing their attitudes and perceptions towards healthcare.
Conclusion
Health disparity has been a major setback in the practicing of the medical profession and provision of medical services to the public. This has affected the attitudes and perception of those individuals who have been oppressed by this phenomenon in a negative manner. In the United States, women from the African American community have been greatly affected by this predicament. Therefore, as a nurse, it is essential to sensitize such individuals in order to empower them on their rights. It is also necessary for the nursing education, practice, policies and ethics to be modified in order to respect the cultural differences of medical clients. This will eradicate the health disparity that has negatively affected the provision of medical care worldwide.
References
Giddings, L.S. (2005). Health Disparities, Social Injustice and the Culture of Nursing. Nursing Research, 54 (5), 304-312
Keppel, K.G. (2007). Ten largest racial and ethnic health disparities in the United States based on healthy people 2010 objectives. Journal of Epidemiol ,166 (9), 1105–6.
Mays, V.M., Cochran, S.D. and Barnes, N.W. (2007). Race, Race-based Discrimination, and Health Outcomes among African Americans. Annu Rev Psychol, 58 (2), 201–25.
Pieterse, A. and Carter, R. (2010). An Exploratory Investigation of the Relationship between Racism, Racial Identity, Perceptions of Health, and Health Locus of Control among Black American Women. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved,21 (2), 334-348
Williams, D.R. and Collins, C. (2004). Reparations: A Viable Strategy to Address the Enigma of African American Health. American Behavioral Scientist, 47 (7), 977–1000.