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In Canadian healthcare, Black individuals encounter pervasive discrimination from overt acts like harassment to subtle daily indignities, eroding trust and discouraging Black Canadians from seeking medical care. A quantitative study in the Greater Toronto Area found that all 24 Black women participants experienced objectification, maltreatment, and unequal power dynamics in healthcare, mirroring historical patterns of oppression and exposing racial treatment disparities amid challenging healthcare access.

Black Canadians encounter significant racial treatment disparities, including lower rates of receiving biologic treatments such as medications for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, compared to White patients. Additionally, limited participatory visits with physicians and clinical trials, undermining treatment validation. Despite Canada's universal healthcare access, socioeconomic status exacerbates these disparities, hindering low-income individuals' access to prescription drug coverage and specialist care. Evidently, racialized persons are twice as likely as non-racialized persons to face these challenges. These issues are further compounded by historical and systemic contexts and a lack of diversity among healthcare workers, shaping negative healthcare experiences for Black individuals.

In contemporary Canadian healthcare, research indicates that everyday racism adversely affects the health outcomes of Black Canadians and other racialized communities. For instance, in Ontario, Black people, constituting 5% of the population, represented one-quarter of new HIV diagnoses. Additionally, throughout the first 14 months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Toronto, Black people accounted for 14% of cases and 15% of hospitalizations, despite comprising 9% of the city's population. These findings highlight that Black Canadians face insensitivity and discrimination from healthcare providers, dissuading individuals from seeking care and exacerbating disparities in health outcomes.

Studies highlight that evidence-informed health promotion initiatives and interventions targeting racism's impact on health and within Canadian healthcare are crucial for promoting health equity, rebuilding trust within the healthcare system, and improving public health outcomes in Canada. Additionally, collecting ethically disaggregated ethno-racial data for monitoring outcomes is essential for positive changes within the Canadian healthcare system.