| Description |
During the time of slavery, Black and African Americans were mistreated and abused as research subjects in medical studies. This mistreatment continued into the 20th century with the Tuskegee Syphilis study and continues today in many doctor's offices throughout America. This paper begins by looking into the details of this mistreatment and how it has led to distrust among Black and African American individuals in healthcare. Over time, this distrust has shown to have an impact on factors affecting the health disparities which exist between white and minority populations. Efforts to increase trust and decrease health disparities through policy and race-based medicine are reviewed, although found to not have the desired effect. In searching for a better solution, the paper concludes by discussing the impact that increasing the number of minority physicians in healthcare, through decreasing the cost barrier of a medical education, could have on both trust and health disparities. |
