Work

Racialized Risk in Clinical Care: Clinician Vigilance and Patient Responsibility

Year: 2018

Type: article

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.

Source: Medical Anthropology

DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2018.1476508

Authors: Hannah S. Bell, Funmi Odumosu, Anna C. Martinez-Hume, Heather A. Howard, Linda M. Hunt

Institution: Michigan State University

Language: English

Topic: Race, Genetics, and Society

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: Michigan State University, National Human Genome Research Institute