What Role Should Race Have in Medicine?
Should physicians consider a patient’s race when making diagnoses and treatment decisions? In this pathway, we explore this question by looking at two approaches to medical research and practice: racialized medicine and race-conscious medicine. While racialized medicine views race as a biological factor that can influence people’s health, race-conscious medicine recognizes that the concept of race in humans is something created by our societies, leading to inequalities between groups of people. By understanding the historical roots of racialized medicine and the consequences its practices have for the health of racially marginalized communities, we can begin to address some of the injustices that still exist in our health-care systems. We can also support race-conscious practices that recognize how systemic racism affects people’s health, and by doing so, work towards achieving health equity. This pathway forms part of the Racism as a Public Health Crisis cluster. See our equity pledge as part of this initiative. Please note: This pathway contains sensitive content related to racial violence and discrimination.
Topics
- health equity
- public health
- medical discrimination
- equity
- racism
- inclusion
- diversity
- belonging
- RDEISE
- racialized medicine
- race-based medicine
- race-conscious medicine
- medical racism
- health disparities
- history of medicine