User:Khayes02/sandbox

Many of the violent and inhuman actions taken towards people of color have shaped how African Americans within the U.S view health care. The Mississippi Appendectomy is where many black slaves were used as test subjects to treat vesicovaginal fistulas, an experiment performed by Dr. James Marion Sims. Dr. Sims was heralded as a brilliant physician, despite his inhumane experimentation on black women to further his career. Experiments such as these transformed after the 15th Amendment, where many white citizens were afraid of black populations gaining too much power. The forceful sterilization of black women without their knowledge is one of the many examples of white Americans attempting to regulate and control populations within black communities. Although injustice like this has become illegal in recent years, the fear it has created remains, resulting in the distrust of health care professionals and birth control methods. Many woman have not received justice for the things done to them. Medical research has historically been a form of violence for black communities living within the United States. The

In 2001 the Journal of the National Medical Association has concluded that this fear causes those within the African American community to avoid clinical trials. Although these trials are now set up to protect participants, black communities remain wary. This also has its downsides, as it's impossible to know if drugs will impact white and colored persons the same without these trials. Past medical malpractice has led to distrust, which in turn makes creating necessary medicine for the black community more difficult. Perpetuating the lack of resources and health care available to black communities.

The experimentation and abuse set onto black bodies in the pursuit of medical development has a long and treacherous history. The Tuskegee experiment is one of the more well known experiment, where black men with Syphilis were left untreated to ease the doctors' curiosities concerning the natural course of the disease when left untreated. Many of the men were told that their study was concerning "bad blood" and nothing more. The doctors would dissuade these individuals from seeking outside help, while performing blood draws, spinal taps, and autopsies. The Tuskegee experiments have had generational consequences in the belief of health care. There are many in the black community who believe the government injected syphilis virus into those men in the experiment. Although this has not been factually proven, rumors within the community were enough to create long withstanding distrust. The same goes for agreeing to being an organ donor on a drivers license. Many African Americans will immediately say no, as there's a belief that their organs will be misused.

The Tuskegee experiments are often used as an explanation for African American's reluctance in seeking healthcare. However, dwindling this complex issue down to a singular event minimizes what African Americans have endured for decades. In actuality, the combination of both medical exploitation and long lasting health disparities have influenced how many African Americans view health care. The limited access to healthcare alongside continuous negative experiences with care providers have had a major influence. Care providers are an essential part of any health check in or visit. The lack of racial diversity and lack of empathy within some health institutions are a large part of why African Americans are distrustful in mainstream medicine and physicians. A study conducted by the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved in 2010 have found that many African Americans perceived "medical research" with a negative connotation. The mistrust in health institutions was also discovered to cross many socioeconomic backgrounds. Highly educated individuals sited recent experiences which exacerbated the distrust they already had. One individual spoke on an experience with a research study on razor burns, where he asked the researchers a variety of questions, the amount of questions he posed seemed to have surprised the researchers. When the man described a way of clipping whiskers, whish the researchers had never heard of before. This ultimately dissuaded the man in participating, as this method was common within the African American community. Participants in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved have also expressed that research findings hardly benefit the African American community. Many times, they contend that the research benefits other races, specifically white individuals. 

Hospitals have long been spaces that have made black persons within the United States feel unwelcomed. Hospitals that were available to black communities have a history of being underfunded and racially discriminatory environments. A study performed in early 2022 by Lown Institute identified hospitals which still used segregation practices that would underserve patients from colored communities. Meanwhile, some of the more inclusive hospitals gain less revenue than these hospitals with exclusionist practices. Many of these hospitals receive lower payments for patient care. This could be the direct result of the present wealth imbalances between races within the United States. Research done by the Journal of General Internal Medicine has determined that persevering funding disparities have led to less quality resources for hospitals that predominantly serve black patients.

Studies by the Health and Human Rights Journal in 2020 have determined widening health disparities in the wake of COVID-19. Testing kits were initially provided equally among the labs within the U.S., however, there was a lack of consideration of population density within those communities. It was determined that many African Americans lacked access to these tests. Within Kansas, out of roughly 94,780 tests, only 4,854 were used by African Americans, while 50,070 were used by white individuals. African Americans within the state made up roughly one third of all COVID-19 related deaths, demonstrating how Black communities were disproportionately impacted. The predisposal of low wage jobs to communities of color impact the ability to access necessary health resources. Black communities' fear and distrust within health professionals has led to underlying health issues becoming untreated. When a person with these health issues comes into contact with COVID-19, it becomes a much more lethal situation.

Many of the risk factors for Alzheimer's such as high blood pressure and diabetes are more prevalent in African American communities. Therefore making Alzheimer's disproportionately impact black communities within America. The Alzheimer's Impact Movement is an association that seeks to advance the care for those who have Alzheimer's and Dementia. The Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project in 2020 collected data on the percentages of people aged 65 or older with Alzheimer's disease or other types of Dementia. For each demographic ages 65-74, 75-84, and 85+, the proportion of African Americans with Alzheimer's were two times larger than the proportion of white individuals within those age groups. Although African Americans are more likely to develop Alzheimer's, they are only 34% more likely to receive a diagnoses for their condition. If diagnosed, it's typical for the disease to have already developed into the later stages with further deteriorated cognition. As a result, African Americans tend to pay substantially more for health services. For African Americans in 2014 it was discovered that the average per-person Medicare payment was 35% higher than white individuals with Alzheimer's. Another study set on by The Chicago health and Aging project in 2018 found that the higher risk of Alzheimer's disease could stem from disparities within educational attainment. Findings from the study portray a contradiction between cognition decline and cognition and Dementia risk. The findings could reflect upon lacking cognitive reserves developed over their lifespan. Exposure to racism, access to resources, and exposures to neurotoxins have consequentially leading to poorer cognitive function and disproportionately develop Dementia.

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