Research shows that medical students and residents still inaccurately believe that Black people have “thicker skin” and experience less pain than whites. A 2018 study found that Black people are more likely to be involved in studies that have been exempted from requiring informed consent (which would fully describe the potential risks of the research to participants). Black communities are more likely to lack emergency medical care and maternity wards. And Black women are more likely to not receive adequate prenatal care from health care providers, which may play a role in the higher maternal mortality rate for Black mothers.
“Health is about more than having medicines that treat us when are sick. It is about being able to have the expectation of a healthy life. Recent events have shown yet again this is an expectation often denied to black and brown communities in the US.”