Racial Inequity in Health Care: Barriers and Evidence Gaps
This paper explores racial inequity in health care, focusing on how structural racism contributes to disparate health outcomes for Black patients compared to White patients. Drawing on studies by Cogburn (2019), Gollust et al. (2018), and Siegel et al. (2021), the paper examines how provider bias and systemic racism drive higher morbidity, mortality, and COVID-19 death rates among Black populations. It further identifies key barriers to implementing research recommendations — including provider complacency and racially biased policymaking — and discusses the critical gap between broad research findings and evidence-based approaches that can be practically applied within specific health care organizations.
- Racial Inequity in Health Care: Research evidence on racial disparities in care
- Potential Barriers to Implementing Research: Structural racism and provider bias block reform
- Gaps Between Evidence-Based Approaches and the Research Process: Why broad research rarely translates to practice
- References: Cited sources supporting the paper's claims
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds each claim in a specific, cited study, giving the argument an empirical foundation rather than relying on assertion alone.
- Connects macro-level structural racism to concrete, observable scenarios — such as the contrasting treatment of Black and White women seeking care without funds — making abstract inequity tangible.
- Clearly distinguishes between two related but distinct concepts (the research process vs. evidence-based approaches), demonstrating analytical precision.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates synthesis of multiple sources to build a cumulative argument. Rather than summarizing each study in isolation, the author weaves findings from Cogburn (2019), Gollust et al. (2018), and Siegel et al. (2021) together to show a consistent pattern of racial inequity, then uses that synthesis as the foundation for a policy-level critique about implementation failures.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a three-part analytical structure: (1) establishing the problem through a review of research evidence on racial health care inequity; (2) identifying systemic and attitudinal barriers that prevent reform; and (3) analyzing the conceptual gap between broad research recommendations and actionable evidence-based practice. This progression moves logically from problem identification to diagnosis of why solutions fail, culminating in a critique of organizational accountability.
Racial Inequity in Health Care
The care received by Black people from their providers contributes significantly to their high morbidity and mortality rates. Numerous studies have been conducted examining racial inequity in health care, and they have all produced similar findings. However, study results are frequently shelved, and the implementation of recommendations is rarely carried out. Black people still do not receive the same quality of care as their White counterparts, a disparity that shortens their lives.
According to Gollust et al. (2018), there is widespread consensus that health care providers contribute to racial health care inequalities and that they can play a vital role in eliminating them. The problem is that few providers will acknowledge any fault; instead, they tend to shift blame onto patients. Another relevant study is one conducted by Cogburn (2019), in which the author analyzed the implications of racial inequity on population health. Due to racial inequity, efforts targeting improvements in population health are less effective because a portion of the population does not receive adequate care. Siegel et al. (2021) posited that structural racism is the root cause of the increased Black-White disparity in COVID-19 mortality. The majority of Black people who died from COVID-19 could have been saved had they received adequate care.
Potential Barriers to Implementing Research
The most significant barriers to implementing the research examined are a lack of motivation among providers and a systemic tendency to prioritize White patients. Structural racism is the most consequential factor preventing improvements and limiting policy change. For a long time, Black people have been regarded as inferior, and despite continued demonstrations and demands for racial equity, this perception rarely changes in care settings. Many health care providers view Black patients as poor and assume they cannot afford health care services, leading providers to give them less attention.
Systemic racism shapes the perceptions of many nurses and clinicians, who treat Black and White patients differently. For example, a White woman presenting at a health care facility can demand services even without funds and is highly likely to receive them. The same cannot be said for a Black woman attempting the same. She is more likely to be turned away, and if she insists, hospital administrators may call the police. The problem extends beyond health care facilities as well. Policymakers — who are predominantly White — tend to overlook the needs of the Black population and direct most health care funding toward improving services for White patients.
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