scholarly journals Racism in European Health Care: Structural Violence and Beyond

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1662-1673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hamed ◽  
Suruchi Thapar-Björkert ◽  
Hannah Bradby ◽  
Beth Maina Ahlberg

Research shows how racism can negatively affect access to health care and treatment. However, limited theoretical research exists on conceptualizing racism in health care. In this article, we use structural violence as a theoretical tool to understand how racism as an institutionalized social structure is enacted in subtle ways and how the “violence” built into forms of social organization is rendered invisible through repetition and routinization. We draw on interviews with health care users from three European countries, namely, Sweden, Germany, and Portugal to demonstrate how two interrelated processes of unequal access to resources and inequalities in power can lead to the silencing of suffering and erosion of dignity, respectively. The strength of this article lies in illuminating the mechanisms of subtle racism that damages individuals and leads to loss of trust in health care. It is imperative to address these issues to ensure a responsive and equal health care for all users.

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (36) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Marta Tripane

China is the world's largest country by population, the third largest by territory and the second largest world’s economy by GDP. Therefore it is important to follow the successes and failures of China in the field of health, because they affect the health area and processes in the world. This article includes retrospective analysis of empirical data to analyze the main inputs and outputs of China's health policy in order to identify the main problems and highlight the major challenges. In the article is concluded that main problems are related with insufficient and unequal access to health care.


2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merrill Singer

An important shift has occurred in anthropology over the last 30 years. A notable expression of this change is seen in the contemporary anthropology of poverty. As dramatically contrasted with the anthropology of poverty of an earlier era, when the notion of a "culture of poverty" had currency within the discipline, current thinking has been significantly influenced by a structural approach that seeks to understand poverty and its health consequences in terms of what has been called "structural violence." Structural violence was introduced into the lexicon of anthropology to label relations of inequality that are so grave in their effect that they can be seen as a form of sanctioned violence (like the structuring of access to health care in terms of possession of health insurance or the exclusion from quality housing, or even any housing, on the basis of ethnicity and social class). Unlike street violence or intimate partner violence, both forms of physical harm that are criminalized, structural violence is legal and hence unpunished. Indeed, perpetrators, if they are corporate heads, may be rewarded with stock options and other perks that boost their salaries to obscene levels relative to the prevailing wage system in society generally. Structural violence has been publicly denied its true nature as a direct assault on the health and well-being of the poor and other marginalized populations because access to health care, access to housing, and access to food are not legal rights.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. S1993
Author(s):  
M.T. Ruiz Tsukazan ◽  
A. Vigo ◽  
L. Lago ◽  
G. Lenz ◽  
V. Duval Da Silva ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Hunt ◽  
Isabel Montemayor

Currently, the United States is facing a health care crisis. The number of uninsured and underinsured people is increasing steadily, with Latinos especially hard hit, at nearly triple the national rate of uninsured. For many in this population, difficulty in accessing adequate health care is multiplied by poverty, limited English language competency, and immigration status. In this paper, we report on focus groups and interviews conducted with a group of Latinos in a mid-sized Midwestern city, regarding their experiences with the health care system. Our analysis provides some insight into how unequal access to health care is affecting U.S. Latinos with and without health insurance. We offer some modest recommendations toward community advocacy that may help Latinos and other marginalized groups to better access the health services they need.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Russ ◽  
Eric Emerson ◽  
Anna Marriott

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 1191-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Devillanova ◽  
Tommaso Frattini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess whether immigrants suffer from unequal access to health care services, that add to prevailing socioeconomic barriers to care. Design/methodology/approach Using a uniquely rich Italian health survey, the authors estimate the correlation between immigrant status and the probability of accessing health services, conditional on a rich set of individual and territorial characteristics. Findings Results show that foreigners are more likely to contact emergency services and less likely to visit specialist doctors and use preventive care. Similar results hold for second-generation immigrants. Originality/value The authors discuss the sources of observed inequities and suggest tentative policy implications to promote equal access.


BMJ ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 341 (aug11 1) ◽  
pp. c3726-c3726 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bowling ◽  
M. McKee

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-35
Author(s):  
Roberto De Vogli ◽  
Rossella De Falco

The aim of this review is to examine the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on health inequalities and discuss effective public policies in containing them. The Covid-19 pandemic has generated not only an unprecedented health crisis, but also a severe economic recession and rapid increase in unemployment and economic difficulties. The poorer socioeconomic classes have been most affected by SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths due to inequalities in working, housing and area of residence conditions, psychosocial factors, as well as unequal access to health care. However, the effects of the pandemic on health inequalities can be tackled by effective policies of Covid-19 containment based on testing, tracing and isolate timely and stronger social protection measures on behalf of the most disadvantaged populations.


Author(s):  
Pauline A. Mashima

Important initiatives in health care include (a) improving access to services for disadvantaged populations, (b) providing equal access for individuals with limited or non-English proficiency, and (c) ensuring cultural competence of health-care providers to facilitate effective services for individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, 2001). This article provides a brief overview of the use of technology by speech-language pathologists and audiologists to extend their services to underserved populations who live in remote geographic areas, or when cultural and linguistic differences impact service delivery.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document