Introduction
Race and health is a complex and multifaceted issue that has been the subject of much research and discussion. The United States has had a long and troubled history of racial percipience and healthcare disparities, significantly impacting the health outcomes of different racial and ethnic groups. For instance, research has shown that people of color in the United States experience worse health outcomes than their White counterparts across various conditions and diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and COVID-19. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including discrimination and bias in healthcare settings, inadequate access to healthy food and safe neighborhoods, environmental pollution, and chronic stress resulting from experiences of racism and discrimination. This paper analyzes Rachel Rabkin Peachman’s (2022) “Pain in Children is Often Ignored. For Children of Color, It’s Even Worse” and Douglas Belkin’s (2020) “Why We Need More Black Doctors—and How to Get There” articles on race and health.
Summary of Different Newspaper Arguments
The New York Times
Rachel Peachman’s article discusses the issue of racial disparities in pain management for children in the United States and presents three standout arguments. Foremost, healthcare providers’ implicit biases and stereotypes can lead to inadequate pain management for children of color. Providers are less likely to provide adequate pain management to children of color, despite similar medical conditions and symptoms, due to a range of implicit biases and stereotypes (Peachman, 2022). Such disparities can lead to worsened health outcomes and even death for these children. Secondly, black children are particularly vulnerable to inadequate pain management due to a history of mistreatment and exploitation in medical research and experimentation. Black families deeply mistrust the healthcare system due to historical injustices, which can further hinder their children’s access to appropriate pain management. Finally, addressing racial disparities in pain management will require systemic changes to the healthcare system. Therefore, addressing these disparities through increasing awareness and education among healthcare providers about the effects of implicit bias on pain management, efforts to build trust and improve communication between providers and patients and their families, and changes to medical education and training to ensure that healthcare providers are equipped to provide equitable care to all children, regardless of their race or ethnicity is paramount.
The Wall Street Journal
Douglas Belkin’s article discusses the issue of black doctors and presents several key arguments. Firstly, the underrepresentation of Black doctors in the United States is a significant problem that negatively impacts Black patients’ health outcomes. Research has shown that Black patients are more likely to trust and feel more comfortable with Black doctors, leading to better communication, greater adherence to treatment plans, and improved health outcomes. Increasing the number of Black doctors requires addressing systemic barriers that prevent Black students from entering and succeeding in medical school. These barriers include unequal access to quality education, lack of mentorship and support networks, and financial barriers, including the high cost of medical education. Efforts to increase the number of Black doctors must be multifaceted and involve collaboration across multiple sectors, including education, healthcare, and government (Belkin, 2020). Strategies to address these barriers include increasing funding for scholarships and financial aid, creating mentorship and support programs for Black students, and addressing bias and discrimination in medical education and training. Consequently, the article argues that increasing the number of Black doctors in the United States is critical to improving health outcomes for Black patients and addressing longstanding health disparities.
An Evaluation of the Perspectives
Stock Theory or a Matrix of Race Argument
Both Rachel Peachman and Douglas Belkin present a matrix of race argument. Peachman’s article recognizes the complex interplay between race, implicit biases, historical mistrust, and systemic barriers to adequate pain management for children of color. She argues that inadequate pain management for children of color is not simply a result of individual bias or prejudice but a systemic problem that requires multifaceted solutions, such as increased awareness and education among healthcare providers about implicit bias, efforts to build trust and improve communication between providers and patients and their families, and changes to medical education and training to equip healthcare providers for the provision of equitable care to all children (Peachman, 2022). From a similar lens, Belkin highlights the complex interplay between race, access to education, and health outcomes and argues that increasing the number of Black doctors in the United States is critical to improving health outcomes for Black patients and addressing longstanding health disparities (Belkin, 2020). The authors present a more nuanced and complex understanding of race and health in the United States by presenting the necessary multiple factors, solutions, and intervention strategies required to address bias and discrimination in healthcare.
Changes to Improve the Matrix of Analysis
The possible major change to improve Peachman’s analysis matrix would be to include a more in-depth exploration of the intersectionality of race, gender, and socioeconomic status in pain management for children of color. While the article touches on the impact of socioeconomic factors on pain management, it primarily focuses on race and pain management. Including a more nuanced analysis of the effects of gender and socioeconomic status on pain management for children of color could deepen comprehension of the issue’s complexity and provide more targeted solutions for addressing the associated disparities. A possible addition to improving Belkin’s matrix of analysis would be to include a more detailed examination of the role of institutional racism and systemic bias in medical education and healthcare delivery. While he discusses the impact of systemic barriers, such as unequal access to quality education and lack of mentorship and support networks, it does not delve deeply into how racism and bias continue to shape medical education and practice (Belkin, 2020). The article could benefit from a more comprehensive analysis of the potential limitations and challenges of increasing the number of Black doctors, including the potential for tokenization and the need for ongoing efforts to ensure that all healthcare providers are trained to provide culturally competent and equitable care to all patients.
Perspective on the Matrix of Race Approach
Peachman and Belkin’s take on a matrix of race argument is different. Peachman’s article presents a nuanced and complex understanding of the issue and provides various potential solutions for improving pain management for children of color. Douglas Belkin’s article presents a range of factors and strategies for increasing the number of Black doctors, including addressing systemic barriers to entry and success in medical school, increasing funding for scholarships and financial aid, and creating mentorship and support programs for Black students. The two articles provide valuable insights into the complex interplay of race, access to healthcare, and health outcomes in the United States. While each article focuses on a different aspect of the issue, both provide a matrix of race argument that recognizes the multifaceted nature of the problem and presents potential solutions. Therefore, it is difficult to determine which article did a better job taking on a matrix of race argument, as both make valuable contributions to the ongoing conversation about race and health in the United States.
Importance of Taking on a Matrix of Race Approach
The two articles analyzed should take on a matrix of race approach because race and health are complex and multifaceted, thus, cannot be reduced to a single factor or explanation. A matrix of race approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of how race, socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and other factors intersect to shape health outcomes and experiences of the healthcare system. A matrix of race approach allows the authors to explore the multiple ways in which systemic racism and bias impact healthcare delivery, medical education, and patient outcomes and to identify potential solutions for addressing these issues. This approach also recognizes that solutions to these problems must be multifaceted and involve various stakeholders, including healthcare providers, policymakers, educators, and the broader public. Hence, the approach is essential in understanding the complex interplay of race, healthcare, and health outcomes in the United States and identifying strategies to address these longstanding and deeply rooted issues.
Conclusion
Peachman and Belkin take on a matrix of race approach to the issue of race and health in the United States but in different ways. Peachman’s article focuses on the issue of pain management for children of color and presents a nuanced and multifaceted understanding of the systemic issues that contribute to inadequate pain management. Belkin’s article focuses on the need to increase the number of Black doctors in the United States to address longstanding health disparities. The articles provide valuable insights into the complex and multifaceted issue of race and health in the United States and highlight the importance of taking a matrix of race approach to understanding and addressing these issues. By recognizing the systemic barriers and biases contributing to health disparities and promoting greater diversity and equity within the healthcare system, creating a more just and equitable healthcare system for all is imperative.
References
Belkin, D. (2020, September 8). Why We Need More Black Doctors—and How to Get There. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-we-need-more-black-doctorsand-how-to-get-there-11599597158
Peachman, R. R. (2022, August 16). Pain in Children is Often Ignored. For Children of Color, It’s Even Worse. The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/16/well/pain-management-children-race.html
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