Race Based Medicine, Colorblind Disease

How Racism in Medicine Harms Us All

Bibliographic Data

ID8109898
AuthorsRuqaiijah Yearby (0000-0002-2381-9401, Saint Louis University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume21
Issue2
Pages19-27
Publication date2020-12-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe American Journal of Bioethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1526-5161 • E-ISSN: 1536-0075
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15265161.2020.1851811
PMID33280534
OpenAlexW3113148621
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited58

The genome between socially constructed racial groups is 99.5%-99.9% identical; the 0.1%-0.5% variation between any two unrelated individuals is greatest between individuals in the same racial group; and there are no identifiable racial genomic clusters. Nevertheless, race continues to be used as a biological reality in health disparities research, medical guidelines, and standards of care reinforcing the notion that racial and ethnic minorities are inferior, while ignoring the health problems of Whites. This article discusses how the continued misuse of race in medicine and the identification of Whites as the control group, which reinforces this racial hierarchy, are examples of racism in medicine that harm all us. To address this problem, race should only be used as a factor in medicine when explicitly connected to racism or to fulfill diversity and inclusion efforts

Criminology · Diversity (politics · Ethnic group · Harm · Health care · Health equity · Inclusion (mineral · Political science · Public health · Race (biology · Race and health · Racism · Sociology · Anthropology · Medicine · Nursing · Obesity and Health Practices · Psychology · Race, Genetics, and Society · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Gender Studies · Gerontology · Law · Social Psychology