1. Racialized Risk in Clinical Care: Clinician Vigilance and Patient Responsibility.
- Author
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Bell HS, Odumosu F, Martinez-Hume AC, Howard HA, and Hunt LM
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Social Responsibility, United States ethnology, Young Adult, Delivery of Health Care ethnology, Patient Care, Racial Groups ethnology, Racism ethnology
- Abstract
Racial/ethnic identity is contingent and arbitrary, yet it is commonly used to evaluate disease risk and treatment response. Drawing on open-ended interviews with patients and clinicians in two US clinics, we explore how racialized risk is conceptualized and how it impacts patient care and experience. We found that racial/ethnic risk was a common but poorly defined construct for both patients and clinicians, who intermingled concepts of genetics, biology, behavior, and culture, while disregarding historical or structural context. We argue that racializing risk embodies social power in marked and unmarked bodies, reinforcing inequality along racial lines and undermining equitable health care.
- Published
- 2019
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