Have you read the latest NY Times article on The Role of Unconscious Bias in Healthcare Putting Black Women at Higher Risk?
In this article they share studies that validate their experiences:
“Analyses of taped conversations between physicians and patients have found that doctors dominate the conversation more with Black patients and don’t ask as many questions as they do of white patients. In medical notes, doctors are more likely to express skepticism about the symptoms Black patients report.
Hovering over these experiences is the stark reality that Black women have worse pregnancy outcomes, lose more infants in the first year of life and have higher rates of preterm birth and stillbirth, when compared with white women. Glaring racial disparities in health outcomes persist between white women and even the wealthiest Black women, and between Black women and white women who experience the same complications.”
The bias of these providers puts Black pregnant and birthing people and their babies at risk.
We are in a CRISIS.
Black women are more likely to be tested for illicit drugs during labor and delivery than white women, regardless of their history of substance use, and even though they were less likely than white women to test positive, a recent study found.
Other studies indicate that physicians may express less empathy for Black patients, compared with white patients, and their notes reflect a belief that Black patients are less likely to follow medical advice.
They are more likely to describe Black patients as uncooperative or “noncompliant,” and they may prescribe less aggressive treatment because they don’t think Black patients will adhere to it, experts say.
THIS IS WHY we have created the Bridge Directory. More than a directory. A platform for change, for healing from the inside out.