Over the past several months the PW Perspective has discussed the rising infant mortality rates among Black and Brown expectant mothers. Sadly, the treatment among minority patients does not end there at the hands of medical professionals. Even worse, the plan for treatment begins long before any aid is administered in some cases.

According to a report released in January 2020 by Janice A. Sabin, PhD, MWS at the University of Washington, titled How We Fail Black Patients in Pain, half of white medical trainees believe the myths that black people have thicker skin and/or less sensitive nerve endings than their white counterparts. Sabin, who specializes in Implicit Bias in Health Care, reports that there are other perpetuated myths as well about black patients, such as “their blood coagulates more quickly than white people’s.” During a survey she conducted with medical trainees in 2016, as well as a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academics of Science, 40% of first and second-year medical students endorsed the belief that black people have thicker skin.

Fortunately, there is a recognition for implicit bias training, which has been proposed by Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) in the Maternal CARE Act of 2019. Sen. Harris and Rep. Alma Adams (NC) have come together to call for a greater level of implicit bias training in order to, according to the act, “help medical schools incorporate bias recognition in clinical skills testing by directing the National Academy of Medicine to make recommendations.” In addition, the act seeks to create a new $25 million program to fight racial bias, particularly in maternal health care. This has been an ongoing problem, being in that Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women, equaling 42.8 deaths per 100,000 live births for their children.

The grants would be given to accredited schools of allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, and other health professional training programs to support implicit bias training. Click on the link for more details regarding the bill.

There will be more to this story as it develops. How many more minorities have to die due to a perpetrated myth?