Author: Abrar Hossain
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, otherwise known as BIPOC, face unconventional
challenges every day in modern society. From discrimination in the workplace to being
misrepresented in the media, the BIPOC community face constant defamation in the public
eye. Fabrication in the press resulted in racialized communities being mistreated in Ontario,
specifically in the healthcare system (Gerster, 2021). Canadian healthcare is prone to
systemic racism that would affect the care provided to BIPOC communities. Take Brian
Sinclair’s case for instance: in September 2008, he was deemed intoxicated, and thus treated
for alcohol poisoning. “Sinclair was not ill, but simply sleeping or intoxicated. This assumption
is a striking and painful example of one of the structures of indifference that cost Sinclair his
life, as it has cost the lives of other Indigenous peoples in Canadian cities.” As Mary Jane
Logan McCallum and Adele Perry have described in their literature “Structures of
Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City.” Sinclair had been mistakenly
treated for symptoms based on stereotypical bias rather than for his symptoms associated
with a severe bladder infection (Gerster, 2021).
Cheryllee Bourgeois, an exemption Métis midwife and professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, mentioned that preconceived notions of healthcare workers result in prejudiced responses to care-seeking individuals in the Indigenous community: “In pain? Labeled as drug seeking. Having a trauma response to something? You’re non-compliant. Treated badly so you do not go to your next appointment? You’re kicked out of care.” (Gerster, 2021) A recent research study in 2021 by Mahabir and colleagues indicates this to be especially prevalent in the Greater Toronto Area (Mahabir et al., 2021). In this study, researchers random-sampled patients from different ethnicities, asked for their self-identification (ethnicity, gender andplace of birth) and then asked them to complete a questionnaire. This questionnaire inquired about their impression of the care they were given, which was then shared anonymously to the other participants. Other participants would sort and rate their level of association with each answer. The results indicated five main categories of mistreatment: negligence in communication, unprofessionalism in response to patient inquiry, unequal access to high levels of healthcare services, racial, ethnic, and class discrimination, or dehumanization of the patient (Mahabir et al., 2021). This demonstrates how systemic racism within the healthcare system impacts those from the BIPOC community, building distrust for individuals of the community.
Dr. Suzanne Shoush, a Black Indigenous doctor of Sudanese and Coast Salish descent, faculty head in the University of Toronto’s Family and Community Medicine, mentioned that the privileged community would be ignorant of the power they possess in serving their local community: “People that have privilege are really, really blind to the fact privilege plays a role in where they are today.” With the opportunity they have been given, healthcare workers have a responsibility to build a safe environment with patients of any background, including those from the BIPOC community (Gerster, 2021).
References
Gerster, J. (2021, January 29). Canadian health care isn’t immune to racism, experts say.
here’s why. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/7142275/systemic-racism-healthcare/.
Mahabir, D. F., O’Campo, P ., Lofters, A., Shankardass, K., Salmon, C., & Muntaner, C.
(2021, March 10). Experiences of everyday racism in Toronto’s health care system: A concept
mapping study - international journal for equity in health. BioMed Central.
https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-021-01410-9.
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