Invisible Visits : Black Middle-Class Women in the American Healthcare System

Although the United States spends almost one-fifth of all its resources on funding healthcare, the American system is dogged by persistent inequities in the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities and women. __Invisible Visits__ analyzes how Black women navigate the complexities of dealing with doctors in this environment. It challenges the idea that race and gender discrimination, particularly in healthcare settings, is a thing of the past. In telling the stories of Black women who are middle class, __Invisible Visits__ also questions the persistent myth that discrimination only affects racial minorities who are poor. In so doing, __Invisible Visits__ expands our understanding of how Black middle-class women are treated when they go to the doctor and why they continue to face inequities in securing proper medical care. The book also analyzes the strategies Black women use to fight for the best treatment and the toll that these adaptations take on their health. __Invisible Visits__ shines a light on how women perceive the persistently negative stereotypes that follow them into the exam room and makes the bold claim that simply providing more cultural competency or anti-bias training to doctors is insufficient to overcome the problem. For Americans to really address these challenges, we must first reckon with how deeply embedded discrimination is in our prized institutions, including healthcare. __Invisible Visits__ tells the story of Black women in their own words and forces us to consider their experiences in the context of America’s fraught history of structural discrimination. "Although the United States spends almost one-fifth of all its resources funding healthcare, the American system continues to be dogged by persistent inequities in the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities and women. Invisible Visits analyzes how middle-class Black women navigate the complexities of dealing with doctors in this environment. It challenges the idea that race and gender discrimination-particularly in healthcare settings-is a thing of the past, and questions the persistent myth that discrimination only affects poor racial minorities. In so doing, the book expands our understanding of how Black middle-class women are treated when they go to the doctor, why they continue to face inequities in securing proper medical care, and what strategies they use to fight for the best treatment (as well as the consequential toll on their health). Drawing from original research, the author shines a light on how women perceive the persistently negative stereotypes that follow them into the exam room, and proceeds to illustrate why simply providing more cultural-competency or anti-bias training to doctors will not be enough to overcome the problem. For Americans to truly address these challenges, the deeply embedded discrimination in our prized institutions-including those in the healthcare sector-must be acknowledged." -- Publisher's description Although the United States spends almost one-fifth of all its resources funding healthcare, the American system continues to be dogged by persistent inequities in the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities and women.ÂInvisible VisitsÂanalyzes how middle-class Black women navigate the complexities of dealing with doctors in this environment. It challenges the idea that race and gender discrimination-particularly in healthcare settings-is a thing of the past, and questions the persistent myth that discrimination only affects poor racial minorities. In so doing, the book expands our understanding of how Black middle-class women are treated when they go to the doctor, why they continue to face inequities in securing proper medical care, and what strategies they use to fight for the best treatment (as well as the consequential toll on their health). Drawing from original research, the author shines a light on how women perceive the persistently negative stereotypes that follow them into the exam room, and proceeds to illustrate why simply providing more cultural-competency or anti-bias training to doctors will not be enough to overcome the problem. For Americans to truly address these challenges, the deeply embedded discrimination in our prized institutions-including those in the healthcare sector-must be acknowledged. Although the United States spends almost one-fifth of all its resources on funding healthcare, the American system is dogged by persistent inequities in the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities and women. 'Invisible Visits' analyzes how Black women navigate the complexities of dealing with doctors in this environment. It challenges the idea that race and gender discrimination, particularly in healthcare settings, is a thing of the past. In telling the stories of Black women who are middle class, the author also questions the persistent myth that discrimination only affects racial minorities who are poor Cover Invisible Visits Copyright Contents Prologue Introduction 1. The Black Middle-Class in White Space: Stereotyping and the Healthcare Encounter 2. Invisible Visits: Black Middle-​Class Women in the American Healthcare System 3. Patient Preferences: The Relative (Un)Importance of Race and Gender Concordance 4. The Mississippi Appendectomy: Race and Reproductive Healthcare 5. Conclusion Appendix: Research Methods References Index Invisible Visits Analyzes Why Black Middle Class Women Continue To Face Inequities In Securing Fair, Equitable, And High Quality Healthcare. Unlike Other Works On Health Disparities It Integrates Social Science, Public Health, And The Humanities To Better Understand Why Black Women Do Not Receive The Standard Of Care At The Doctor. The Book Closes With Strategies For How We Can Finally Address Of Our Nation's Biggest Challenges-- Invisible Visits analyzes why Black middle-class women continue to face inequities in securing fair, equitable, and high-quality healthcare. Unlike other works on health disparities, it integrates social science, public health, and the humanities to better understand why Black women do not receive a proper standard of care at the doctor. (source : éditeur)