Systemic Racism and Health Disparities: Statement from Editors of Family Medicine Journals

Document Type

Response or Comment

Publication Date

1-1-2021

Identifier/URL

40973892 (Pure); 33483387 (PubMed)

Abstract

The year 2020 has been marked by historic protests across the United States and the globe sparked by the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black people. The protests heightened awareness of racism as a public health crisis and triggered an anti-racism movement. Racism is a pervasive and systemic issue that has profound adverse effects on health.1,2 Racism is associated with poorer mental and physical health outcomes and negative patient experiences in the health care system.3,4 As evidenced by the current coronavirus pandemic, race is a sociopolitical construct that continues to disadvantage Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other people of colour.5-8 The association between racism and adverse health outcomes has been discussed for decades in the medical literature, including the family medicine literature. There is a renewed call to action for family medicine, a specialty that emerged as a counterculture to reform mainstream medicine,9 to both confront systemic racism and eliminate health disparities. This effort will require collaboration, commitment, education, and transformative conversations around racism, health inequity, and advocacy so that we can better serve our patients and our communities.

Comments

Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada

DOI

10.46747/cfp.670113

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