For my showcase on systemic injustices in the US today, I decided to focus on the differences in hospital treatment that people can receive just based on their skin color. While researching for another class I came across an article that had Ohio as the third-worst state in the country for health disparities based on a patient’s skin color and wealth (Ingles, 2018). I was very surprised to learn that this type of health disparity still existed at this point in our society. Despite the Civil Rights Movement being mainstream almost 60 years ago, we as a country still have issues with treating everyone equally. A large part of this disparity comes from a person’s environment and socioeconomic status. A wealthier person has easier access to clean water and healthy food and a safe shelter. On top of this, black Ohioans are more than two and a half times more likely than white Ohioans to live in poverty (Ingles, 2018). This is a massive gap that plays a role in African Americans also being thirty times more likely to die of heart disease (Ingles, 2018). The causes for this inequality run very deep in the society that we live in and are ingrained in minorities, who suffer the most. One statistic that I found to be troubling about overall disparities in America was that black children have a 500% higher death rate from asthma-related issues than white children (Williams). There are a wide variety of reasons that lead to this including environment and wealth. When families do not have adequate access to resources and healthcare, these are the devastating results. Even this year, as Black Ohioans make up 13% of the population, only 5.6% of the vaccines have gone to them (Health Disparities).
There is a clear issue that needs to be addressed. The only question is how. I believe that we need to make healthy food more affordable and accessible to everyone. Doing this would make it so that struggling families don’t feel the need to get cheap and unhealthy food just to survive. Also, by providing more social programs to allow access to healthcare, we could ensure that more people are able to see a doctor regularly to decrease their chances of severe diseases developing. In relation to the class content, I keep thinking back to the short story “Recitatif” and how it tackles the idea of speaking and being heard. There is clearly a large issue with healthcare disparities in America, and yet I had no idea until I took a class on the subject. This is an issue with being heard and speaking out about social injustices that need massive change to undo centuries of unfair and unequal treatment that is systemic in our society.
Links to Referenced Articles
https://radio.wosu.org/post/ohio-ranks-among-worst-country-health-disparities#stream/0
https://www.healthpolicynews.org/daily_review/health-disparities/
Great diary of systemic injustices post! I also discussed this topic in one of my diary of systemic injustices assignments but I never researched it for just Ohio. I think it is really interesting to see that Ohio is the third-worst state in the country for health disparities. When being a doctor or other health care professional, many take an oath to treat each patient to the best of their ability. I find it very interesting that many minorities and African Americans are treated the same as other races or social classes. I agree with you that there must be a long standing inequality for minorities within the healthcare system. I think that you made a good connection between the “Recitatif” and your topic. Changes do need to be made within the healthcare system and as a future healthcare worker, I think that those worker should have an understanding of the inequalities that many face. Great post!