Racism And Ethnic Discrimination : A Public Health Measures That Can Mitigate Health Inequities Essay

The experience of racism will bring negative stress and emotion, and may have the risk to develop a range of psychological and physiological problems (Sherwood, 2013). Ferdinand (2013) reports the racism problems among Aboriginal Australian by using a survey. The outcome highlights that almost every Aboriginal who participated in this survey had experienced racism during daily activity, and they or their family members have all experienced a different level of stress when coping with racism. In spite of the anti-racist practice has improved the relationship between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people, but the ongoing forms of discrimination are still continuing and impacts on Indigenous mental health. Furthermore, Indigenous Australian has a higher prevalence of smoking, alcohol and drug intake. The psychological stress they experience may consequently lead to harmful alcohol and drug use, which also causes the mental health problem among Indigenous Australians. Bearing in mind the previous points, all those risk factors and issues for Aboriginal mental health have contributed the high rate of mental illness and also leads to suicide or self-harm behaviours among Aboriginal

Diversity means to value and respect the differences and individuality of people. This means to embrace the differences between people and to treat a person’s race, culture, religious beliefs, age, sexual orientation, gender, physical and mental characteristics etc. with respect.

In recent years and in light of recent tragedies, police actions, specifically police brutality, has come into view of a large, public and rather critical eye. The power to take life rests in the final stage of the criminal justice system. However, the controversy lies where due process does not. While the use of deadly force is defined and limited by departmental policies, it remains an act guided chiefly by the judgment of individual officers in pressure situations. (Goldkamp 1976, 169). Many current studies have emphasized the racial disparities in minority deaths, primarily black Americans, killed by police through means of deadly force. The history of occurrences reveals the forlorn truth that police reforms only receive attention in wake of highly publicized episodes of police misconduct. The notorious 1992 Los Angeles riots brought the matter to mass public attention and prompted improved law enforcement policy. Significant local reforms resulted, for instance, ending the policy of lifetime terms for police chiefs. Additionally, on a broader platform, in 1994, Congress approved provisions to the Crime Control Act in effort to tackle police abuse in a more structured way.

Racism in Australia has always been a controversial element of our country and still continues on in today’s society. Our nation is a bigot country, and the history of Australia shows it continuously has been. Racism majorly impacts the health of Indigenous Australians. The impacts reflect on the life expectancy and mental health of the Indigenous Australians who are then racially criticised in our health system. This paper will explore the impacts that racism in Australia has on Indigenous Australians within healthcare, the life expectancy and the mental health.

Although the United States is a leader in healthcare innovation and spends more money on health care than any other industrialized nation, not all people in the United State benefit equally from this progress as a health care disparity exists between racial and ethnic minorities and white Americans. Health care disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social or economic disadvantage…adversely affecting groups of people who have systematically experienced greater social and/or economic obstacles to health and/or clean environment based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion” (National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities [NPAEHD], 2011, p. 3). Overwhelming evidence shows that racial and ethnic minorities receive inferior quality health care compared to white Americans, and multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including geography, lack of access to adequate health coverage, communication difficulties between patients and providers, cultural barriers, and lack of access to providers (American College of Physicians,

A reformation of the achievement levels of African-Americans starts through the investment of high achieving mentors, families, and friends. It begins with African-Americans straying away from statistical choices, such as placing improper value on education, community involvement, and health. The overcoming of such adversities involved with being an African-American woman has propelled my career goals. By striving to become a pharmacist and non-profit leader I am showing that the accomplishments of African-American women in health and leadership are not abnormal. One of the major causes of minority health disparities is the lack of minority health providers. As a healthcare provider, I will be better able to promote wellness in minority populations.

Evidence show that people from lower class backgrounds and ethnic minority’s backgrounds are more likely to suffer more health problems to the majority ethnic group this shows a pattern of inequality.

In recent discussions of health care disparities, a controversial issue has been whether racism is the cause of health care disparities or not. On one hand, some argue that racism is a serious problem in the health care system. From this perspective, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) states that there is a big gap between the health care quality received by minorities, and the quality of health care received by non-minorities, and the reason is due to racism. On the other hand, however, others argue that health care disparities are not due to racism. In the words of Sally Satel, one of this view’s main proponents, “White and black patients, on average don’t even visit the same population of

hough freed from slavery over a century ago, African Americans and other minority groups are still enslaved by America’s rigid race classifications and assumptions. It is a fact that White Americans are significantly more healthy than African Americans, Asian American, Hispanics, and other minorities (HHS). For example, hypertension, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and kidney failure, is 12.2% higher among African American men than white men, and 16% more for African American Women (“Health”). This health gap has resulted in debates on whether these disparities are due to genetics or social factors, and whether or not race should be a factor in health care treatments. According the American Anthropology Association,

There are many people who say that we are living in a post racial society in the United States today and there are aspects of life in which that seems to be true. Yet there are many areas of life however in which race still is an important divider that has a major impact on the experiences of the minority peoples in the United States. In 2010, about 41% of the U.S. population identified themselves as members of racial or ethnic minority groups. According to the Centers for Disease Control, compared to non-minorities, some minorities experience a disproportionate level of preventable disease, death and disability (. http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/remp.html ).

Aristotle once said “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.”

Discrimination can effect children in many different ways and sometimes you can find yourself judging someone without knowing anything about that certain person.

Racism is a key factor that contributes to inequities and inequalities of health outcomes. The Williams Model contains the basic cause of racism and it helps make the connection between historical events and poor health outcomes for Pacific peoples. The Williams Model has five main components which entail both social and biological factors making it one of the most established and holistic health models. This essay will apply the example of the Pacific Dawn Raids to the Williams Model to explore how social determinants impact health outcomes of Pacific peoples in New Zealand.

The aim of these reports is to identify and assess the significant effects of self-reported racial discrimination and deprivation on health inequalities between Maori (indigenous peoples) and non-Maori. The methods used were from data collected from the 2002-2003 New Zealand Health Survey (Harris, Tobias, Jefferies, Waldegrave, Karlsen & Nazroo, 2006) and 2006-2007 New Zealand Health Survey, based on cancer screening and other negative experience within the health care sector (Harris, Cormack, Tobias, Yeh, Talamaiao, Minster &Timutimu, 2012). The data was to assess the occurrence of reported experiences of racial discrimination in the health care sectors between Maori and non-Maori. Statistics show that New Zealand’s main ethnic group consist of approximately (80%) being of European ethnicity, (15%) Maori, (7%) Pacific Islanders and (7%) Asian (Harris, et al., 2006). Participants were asked to respond to five primary questions about unfair treatment by a health professional, direct or indirect verbal and physical attacks, unfair treatment when purchasing or renting a property and treatment at work. It was important to identify the differences of treatment and the inequality of health care received by different ethnicities. The results of discrimination found that Maori were more likely to experience some sort of racial discrimination in three or more of the settings than non-Maori (Harris, et al,. 2006). Racial has the conception of a superior race but discrimination can

Wall speaks about four main Maori stereotypes within the Media; The Comic Other, The Primitive Natural Athlete, The Radical Political Activist, and The Quintessential Maori. These are shown in fairly modern contexts as well as earlier contexts.