The issue of health disparities based on the ethnic background or race of an individual and their Social Economic Status (SES) is not only experienced through birth but also throughout the lifespan of the individual (Tanner et al., 2015). Most of the disparity is, however, experienced during adulthood. These disparities can be experienced in two manners, either through the caregiver's behavior towards the patient or the patient’s behavior towards the caregivers. A short while ago, while working at the hospital, I encountered an experience that made me realize just how often these things happen. In this particular case, a woman of African American descent was admitted to the hospital unconscious after suffering from cardiac arrest symptoms. Upon gaining consciousness, she tries explaining to the doctors that her condition might be severe, and they should administer better treatment to prevent the reoccurrence of the same. All her doctors happened to be white men and, unfortunately, failed to take her advice seriously. She insists on the severity of her case supporting her claims with evidence, but they did not listen. She is well conversant with such medical conditions from her many years as a surgical doctor. Her concerns were that she would be among the 70% of women who experience a cardiac arrest without any previous symptoms, especially women of color.
The doctors, at no point, took her concerns seriously and blamed her insistent behavior on the OCD diagnosis in her file. Eventually, the patient decides to contact a doctor she trusts who must travel quite a distance in order to come and administer the proper treatment. By the time the doctor contacted by the patient arrives, massive damage has been done on the heart after suffering another minor but slightly stronger heart attack. If the team of doctors working on her had taken the time to listen to her and take the necessary precautions, less extensive damage could have occurred. In this particular case, the patient's social, economic status had nothing to do with the disparity since probably the best health insurance package fully covered them. However, other factors, like race and gender, played a significant role in influencing her health status. Sadly, we still live in a world where people are judged by the color of their skin, and everything else about them becomes completely irrelevant. This case also showed some level of male chauvinism. The heart attack had been triggered due to her constant intake of fast foods, which had eventually resulted in her gaining a significant amount of weight. Also, she resided in a neighborhood where the crime rate is relatively high, so a regular exercise like jogging or walking is not possible.
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In such a case, the caregivers should recognize that the family and home environment is the only constant in their patients' lives, hence their tendency to transform their room to resemble their home dresser and have their snacks. The caregiver should calmly share the child's behavior to the parent, and comprehensively explain how the child's behavior will eventually affect their health. While addressing the issue, it is crucial to observe how the family copes with issues and their strongholds. Finally, the caregiver could collaborate on a professional and parent level to facilitate the creation of a health care delivery system that is easily accessible, responsive, and flexible to this specific family. The strategies used in the treatment should provide the patient with spiritual, emotional, and physical support (Kaakinen et al., 2018).
References
Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research . FA Davis.
Tanner, A., Kim, S. H., Friedman, D. B., Foster, C., & Bergeron, C. D. (2015). Barriers to medical research participation as perceived by clinical trial investigators: communicating with rural and African American communities. Journal of health communication , 20 (1), 88-96.
