Biomedicine, African Americans and

Cheryl B. Leggon

Research has documented the unequal medical treatment of patients based on race or ethnicity (as well as by socioeconomic status). Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher has said that given the diversity of the U.S. population, it is in the best interests of the United States to maximize the health of all Americans. There is a consensus in the research and policy literatures that eliminating disparities should be one of the primary goals of U.S. health care policy, and increasing the participation of African Americans in the biomedical workforce is seen as an important way to achieve that goal. This entry discusses promising policies, programs, and practices to increase the number of African American physicians and biological scientists. Research indicates that even when they have the same degree of insurance and other factors correlated with access to health care—such as ability to pay for care—racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality ...

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