Race and Racism and the Healthcare Professional Perspectives

Introduction

Racial biases are not always overt and can manifest in subtle ways through microaggressions. Racial microaggressions can be chronic or episodic daily race-related hassles that occur in the form of subtle degradations against people of color (Slaughter, 2015; Sue 2007). An example of racial microaggressions include when Asian Americans and Latino Americans are assumed to be foreign-born and a statement such as “You speak good English.” is made which implies that the individual is not American (Wing, 2007). Another example is the pathologizing of cultural values or communication styles of persons of color with the underlying perception that the values and communication styles of the dominant White culture are ideal (Wing, 2007). A classical representation of this is asking an individual who identifies as Black “Why do you have to be so animated?” or asking an individual who identifies as Asian “Why are you so quiet?” (Wing, 2007). These statements indirectly imply that these individuals should assimilate to the dominant culture. Although microaggressions might be subtle occurrences, their effects can create barriers to appropriate healthcare as they may negatively impact patient-centered care by preventing the formation of a positive patient-provider relationship (Cuffee, 2013). This is important as patient satisfaction with their provider and healthcare interactions correlates with health outcomes (Cuffee, 2013).

Furthermore, microaggressions and racist acts are commonly overlooked when directed to communities who may phenotypically present as ‘White’ such as experienced by the Asian population. It is imperative to note that many minority groups in the United States have continuously faced prejudice and discrimination in healthcare (Huang, 2020). While each group has had its own traditional stereotypes, one association for Asians is that they are carriers of disease (Hussain, 2020). Repeatedly, this association was revitalized, most prominently during disease outbreaks. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has again, brought back previous racist stereotypes and thrown Asian-Americans into the national spotlight. Even while many Asian-Americans actively worked in the healthcare field to combat COVID-19, this did not mitigate prejudice and discrimination. In fact, many Asian-American healthcare workers have reported an increased amount of racism from their patients. Our second case scenario in this chapter aims to highlight the obvious and subliminal methods people may convey prejudice and discrimination against Asian healthcare workers, the causes or motivations behind their actions and words, the effects these situations may have on all parties involved, and any actions bystanders may take.