Discrimination

   In everyday society, most people tend to think that racism is no longer a large issue because of things like affirmative action, more minority representation, and other things. The fact of the matter is that even in today’s society it still exist, even in health care.
   When you go to your doctor you probably expect him to listen to what you have to say and the problems you have. For minorities, this can sometimes be very difficult to do. Sometimes you feel as though the doctor is not listening to what you have to say or explaining things to you properly. It is a very difficult thing to explain, but being a minority myself, there are times when I have gone to the doctor and felt as though I was not treated equally or not given the proper attention to my problems.
   Issues like these can lead to serious consequences in a person’s health. Studies have found that African-Americans are more likely to develop hypertension because of constant stress felt as a result of racism from everyday life or from health professionals. Minorities overall are more likely to develop chronic problems such as hypertension or worse conditions because of the constant stress that they go through on a day to day basis.
   One of the most shocking theories recently presented, is that African-American women are more likely to deliver premature babies as a direct or indirect result of racism. Researchers have found that the constant stress felt by minorities, particularly African-Americans, can lead to increased hormone levels within the body that effect the development of the fetus or length of time in the womb. While years ago this theory may have simply been brushed aside as nonsense, today many researchers are starting to accept this idea more and more.
   These issues could drastically effect the health of the nation overall and something needs to be done to curve these effect or stop them overall.