According to a heartbreaking new US
survey, Black and Brown Americans are experiencing mistreatment, insults, and even denial of proper care at an alarmingly high rate in doctors' offices.
No matter who you are, you should feel safe, cared for, and listened to in medical settings. Sign the petition to demand change in the United States!Discrimination in health care is not simply wrong --
it could prove deadly. Some people of color reported having their medical concerns totally ignored; then, those concerns turned out to be a "serious health condition."
This lack of care and treatment almost certainly led to more suffering and worse health outcomes for these poor people!Black mothers were a notable group discriminated against.
Compared to white mothers, twice as many Black mothers were denied pain medications that they needed. This means Black women felt more unnecessary, unrelenting pain likely due to their ethnicity. Even worse, according to the Center for Disease Control's 2020
maternal mortality statistics,
"Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women." Discrimination hurts. Discrimination kills.Black Americans are also clearly facing microaggressions in the doctor's office, according to this survey. 6 out of 10 Black participants said they had to be "careful about how they present themselves and/or expect to be insulted in health care settings."
At the doctor's, no one should have to focus on the way they dress or speak more than how they are feeling and what care they need!This is a real problem -- without proper oversight and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training,
Black and Brown Americans will continue to suffer from discomfort, discrimination, and worse health!That's why we're targeting the largest health system in the US, HCA Healthcare, to take action and set a precedent. HCA has
216 hospitals in its network, meaning it has a huge capacity for change. CEO Sam Hazen must use the findings from this survey, and
invest massive funding in not only supporting their current DEI training program, but spotting and addressing discriminatory treatment. We must bring our voices together and demand justice for Black and Brown patients. Sign the petition asking HCA Healthcare leader Sam Hazen to be the leader to change discriminatory healthcare in the US!