256859 From colonial exploitation, racism, and apartheid to contemporary economic, health, and human rights disparities among racial and ethnic minorities

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 4:30 PM - 4:50 PM

Martin Donohoe, MD, FACP , School of Community Health, Portland State University, Portland, OR
     
The legacies of Western colonial exploitation, slavery, and apartheid have led to contemporary racism; exploitation in research (the Tuskegee and Guatemalan syphilis experiments); segregated communities; employment discrimination; unfairness in the criminal justice (including in the application of capital punishment); educational apartheid; environmental racism; and economic and health care disparities in the United States. Worldwide, racial and cultural inequalities contribute to poverty, famine, war, corporate exploitation, the developing world debt crisis, and inadequate (and unfairly distributed) foreign aid. These phenomena are exacerbated by U.S. non-cooperation and isolationism, manifested by failure to sign or approve multiple treaties relevant to human rights.

This talk will provide an overview of economic, health, and human rights disparities among racial and ethnic minorities, and provide solutions for improving the lives of those who continue to suffer the legacies of exploitation and racism.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of the session, the participant should be able to • Identify how legacies of colonial exploitation, racism, and apartheid have contributed to contemporary economic, health, and human rights disparities among racial and ethnic minorities. • Describe major economic inequalities experienced by racial and cultural minorities, including higher levels of unemployment, poverty, and hunger. • Define environmental racism and educational apartheid, and explain how these phenomena adversely affect African-American and Latino health. • Discuss major disparities in access to health care and in health care outcomes experienced by African-Americans and Latinos in the U.S. • Formulate a global perspective on disparities, outlining the roles played by the medical brain drain, research abuses, inadequate and unfairly-distributed foreign aid, and U.S. isolationism and non-cooperation with international treaties and agreements. • List ways to reduce and eliminate economic, health, and human rights disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.

Keywords: Minority Health, Health Disparities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have published and frequently lecture locally and nationally on topics related to public health, social justice, and health care disparities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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