The modern healthcare industry is a beast of change. New technology rapidly develops every year and immense progress is made in a myriad of medicines. But in terms of representation and diversity, the healthcare “beast” slows down. While it has most certainly changed over time to become progressively more diverse, there still remain many issues for both healthcare providers and patients alike.
One sector where progress can be observed is in nursing. Women have come to especially dominate nursing in healthcare. Over 85% of healthcare workers who are registered nurses are women, according to the United States Census Bureau. In general, women hold about 76% of all healthcare jobs. This dramatic increase in sectors that used to be more male dominated can be attributed to many factors. Nursing is often seen as a female job, particularly since it fits traditional societal roles of women tending for others or being caretakers for other people. Also, since 2000, pay for female registered nurses has increased to a median of $66,000. The reason why there is progress is because women recently have been able to break their so-called “glass ceilings”, the term coined for the limits on their professional growth and salaries that plagues them in so many professions. Even if they can crack it though, male nurses are still often offered “glass elevators” in nursing – they can make money quickly and grow faster successfully.
Yet, patients receive different treatment based on their race, gender, religion, etc. When different racial treatment occurs in healthcare, it is usually not because the healthcare provider is attempting to be racist, but because of the society and institutions they work in that have racist practices built into them and influence them. This is known as structural racism. Of course, individual racism still exists in healthcare settings, like the use of microaggressions and macroaggressions, but structural racism has an impact on all individuals within our society. At times, old beliefs from times of slavery persist. These beliefs, such as that Black people experience less pain because of less sensitive nerve endings and thicker skin, affect Black patients negatively. Some medicines have also featured “corrected” algorithms for Black people based on these aforesaid false biological beliefs in healthcare.
It is also important to note that in general, patients who are not White usually have impeded access to insurance coverage. According to a CDC study, for people under 18, there is a historically large percentage of Hispanic people who are without insurance. For people over 18, the Hispanic disparity remains evident, but Asian and Black percentages increase. In 2013, the most recent piece of data from the same study, White people had the least percentage of people without insurance coverage, as it has been historically as well. There is still a large racial disparity for patients in healthcare, whether it be from institutions like insurance or from healthcare providers.
Aside from race, there are evident problems of treatment with female patients. According to Duke Health, 1 out of 5 women say that a healthcare provider has disregarded their symptoms, and 17% feel like their gender causes them to be treated differently. These percentages are larger than those when asked of men. These feelings are based in truth since women do receive different, often poorer, treatment in places like cardiac care and pain management.
As said by Janine Clayton, MD, for Duke Health, “The origins of this situation go back many years,” as many people never believed there were further biological differences between males and females than their reproductive and sex organs. Less research was conducted for women, in favor of conducting it on men, and so they received less optimized care. Again, however, when healthcare providers are sexist to a patient it is not usually because of intention (unless they are being intentional), but due to practices in the industry.
There are unfortunately numerous patients that experience hostilities, whether indirect or direct, including those of certain religions like Islam. These experiences, though, are not exclusive to just patients but can be the other way around. Many providers have dealt with patients that are racist or sexist with them, because of the same reasons already listed.
Immigrants also face issues in healthcare settings, usually with language. The obvious solution to immigrants not understanding a hospital would be to hire an interpreter, but hospitals mostly do not use them because they increase costs and indirectly increase the time of hospital visits.
According to Oman Journal, language barriers can create the following: difficulty with medications, impeded access to healthcare, and adverse health events. 35% of immigrants experience confusion when reading medications, and 16% experience some sort of bad reaction as a result of their misunderstanding and misuse of it. 65% experience barred healthcare, including those who were fearful that they would misunderstand healthcare providers.
There are many problems surrounding medical representations in healthcare environments. Overall, though, it is important to remember that progress has been made greatly and can be continued to be made for the future.