Black History Month: A Look at Healthcare Disparity
By Dr. Cynthia Hammond, PhD, MS; Kettering College Nursing Professor; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee Member
The month of February is designated as Black History Month. The minority group originally represented African Americans, also known as Black Americans, celebrate along with those part of the larger African diaspora. Black Americans are a result of hundreds of years of slavery, forced reproduction, mixed bloodlines, and new gene pools. Black Americans can trace their lineage to the lineage of the slaves that came to this country in 1619; therefore, we are intricate to the fabric of America.
A main ingredient of having a good life in America is having access to our healthcare system. A member of society is considered to have a “good life” if they have health insurance coverage. Not having access to healthcare via health insurance coverage can be disastrous both physically and financially. The result of the gaps in the “haves and the haves nots” is represented in a plethora of health disparities, which in turn contributes to a broken healthcare system. Black Americans are a major group representing healthcare disparities.
The healthcare disparity question can only be answered by investigating how we got to this point. A historical account of healthcare disparities started when the “White Lion” (History.com editors, 2019), the first slave ship, landed in America. The healthcare system was created for White American citizens but excluded African slaves (Kyere,2020). The healthcare of the slaves was tended by the husband and wife of the slave owners, and the herbal knowledge of African women who remembered previous treatments.
The abiding assumption was that slaves were property, less than human, and did not need any medical care. The abiding assumption was that slave bodies were different from other Americans, that slaves had a high pain tolerance and did not feel pain as much as other races, especially women. These prevailing thoughts have always plagued modern medicine. African American women continue to be ignored by pain complaints when seeking medical care.
“The healthcare disparity question can only be answered by investigating how we got to this point.”
For example, let’s discuss Dr. Sims’ obstetrical and gynecological care of African American slaves (Holland, 2018). Maternity care was born from experiments by Dr. Sims, the father of obstetrical and gynecological medicine. Dr. Sims experimented on female slaves and developed treatments and protocols such as OB/GYN that are used today. Women, historians, and current practitioners are bringing awareness about the brutal and painful treatment instituted by Dr. Sims (Holland, 2018).
The disparities between African Americans started with the arrival of slaves to America. The improvement of the disparities has been minimal at best. The laws passed in America have not supported healthcare for the underserved and underprivileged. The civil rights movement and cries for help have been ongoing processes and have been instrumental in enhancing access to care to solve healthcare disparities. Policy changes hold the power to make changes to our healthcare system and improve healthcare disparities. However, the rising voice of ethnic minorities has often been sabotaged by the counterproductive legislature (History.com editors, 2019).
A major purpose of Black History Month is to recognize black excellence and remember those who toiled and succeeded and left legends of their DNA, smears of their blood on the door post, and on the trees, and added to the knowledge of America through inventions and labor. One of the legacies left behind includes the impact Black Americans have had in healthcare.
For better or worse, Black American contributions have shaped American healthcare. Even though Black Americans are still not receiving full access to a system that was built on our suffering, we can take the time this month to reflect and plan to improve healthcare for all Americans.
References:
History.com Editors, 2019. First enslaved Africans arrive in Jamestown, setting the stage for slavery in North America. url: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-african-slave-ship-arrives-jamestown-colony
Holland, B. (2018). The Father of Modern Gynecology’ Performed Shocking Experiments on Enslaved Women. History.com Url: https://www.history.com/news/the-father-of-modern-gynecology-performed-shocking-experiments-on-slaves
Kyere,E. (2020). Enslaved people’s health was ignored from the country’s beginning, laying the groundwork for today’s health disparities. Url: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344661288_Enslaved_people%27s_health_was_ignored_from_the_country%27s_beginning_laying_the_groundwork_for_today%27s_health_disparities
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