Myths and Medicine: Analyzing Medical Racism in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area Open Access

Abstract

Medical racism, upheld over decades by providers and educators, has propagated myths that have skewed the understandings of students of medicine and members of the population not involved in medical practices alike. Historically, the medical knowledge used and taught by physicians across the United States rests on ideologies of racial hierarchy that reinforce fallacies of white hegemony. The passage of falsities recognized as facts by clinicians and medical researchers who practiced prejudiced standards of care on patients fostered health disparities that persist among Black communities today. This thesis will facilitate a broad understanding of the current state of medical racism at large, supported by research into Black subjective perspectives on medical racism in the Atlanta Metropolitan area and backgrounded by an analysis of the history of racism in anthropology and medicine, health disparities among Black communities in the United States, and racialized medical myths. Fifty-two participants, including medical and pre-medical students, healthcare professionals, public health students, and community members who all self-identified as Black, completed a ten-item digital survey that examined their subjective views and experiences concerning healthcare, medical providers, medical racism, and racialized medical myths. Based on the survey data, belief in some racialized medical myths persists, and there appears to be a disconnect between a tendency to fear and avoid healthcare providers and feelings of safety among them within medical institutions. Future research and investigative efforts should focus on developing a method of Black subjectivity applicable to understanding Black patient-physician relationships and the connections between Black and medical communities considering ongoing racial oppression and discrimination. Additionally, collective efforts from academia, medicine, and health policy are necessary to combat implicit bias and systemic racism, and to advance said research. 

Table of Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................1

0.1 Objectives..................................................................................................2

0.2 Positionality and Background............................................................................3

0.3 Methods and Materials....................................................................................4

Chapter One: Review of Scholarly Literature............................................................13

1.1 A Brief History of Racism in Anthropology and Medicine.......................................14

1.2 Understanding the Impact of Racism on Black People’s Health and Well-being...............19

1.3 A Preliminary Outlook Toward the Future...........................................................23

Chapter Two: Health Disparities...........................................................................27

2.1 Black Mental Health.....................................................................................27

2.2 Black Maternal and Infant Mortality..................................................................30

2.3 Black Patient-Physician Relationships and Access to Care........................................34

Chapter Three: Myths and Medicine.......................................................................37

3.1 Myth: Race is a Biological Fact........................................................................38

3.2 Myth: Black People Have a Higher Tolerance for Physical Pain.................................42

3.3 Myth: Racism is not a Health Risk Factor............................................................46

Results and Discussion......................................................................................49

0.4 Figures....................................................................................................54

0.5 Limitations................................................................................................59

Conclusion....................................................................................................61

0.6 Future Directions........................................................................................62

Citations.......................................................................................................63 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Anthropology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Anthropology, Medical and Forensic African American Studies Health Sciences, Public Health
Keyword	Health Disparities Race Black Subjectivity Medical Education Public Health Myths Medical Racism Implicit Bias
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dr. John Lindo, Emory University
Committee Members	Dr. Bayo Holsey, Emory University Dr. Rachel Hall-Clifford, Emory University

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