Each year, Juneteenth serves as a reminder of both past and ongoing struggles for freedom, justice, and equity in the United States. Systemic bias affects every aspect of American life, and unfortunately, healthcare is no exception.
It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about a problem so deeply ingrained in our society, but the truth is that healthcare professionals at every level get daily opportunities to defend equity and start making positive changes.
What is equity in healthcare?
Of course, you can’t promote equity without understanding it. If you’ve never learned about equity before, you might be wondering what makes it preferable to equality, so let’s break it down.
Equity vs. equality in healthcare
- Equality means exactly what it sounds like: Everyone in society gets access to the same resources, regardless of who they are. That might sound egalitarian, but equality only works when everyone starts off with the same privileges.
- Equity means designing resources and support to meet the needs of each individual, with a focus on ensuring everyone has access to the same opportunities to thrive.
You can think about it like the difference between a “one size fits all” approach and bespoke tailoring. Equality is like everyone getting the same size T-shirt without regard for how it might actually fit them. Equity is more like buying a set of tailored suits: Each person gets a unique garment made to fit their body, resulting in a uniform look that flatters everyone.
So, where does healthcare come into this? Thus far, efforts to address discrimination in the healthcare system have mostly been limited to focusing on equality, like ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to invest in private insurance. But you can’t buy better insurance without money, just like you can’t benefit from healthcare education that isn’t available in your language or care that isn’t offered in your region.
Healthcare equity means working to provide everyone in society with a real opportunity to be as healthy as they can be. To do that, we need to understand and address disparities in healthcare outcomes, not ignore them.
5 Ways to Promote Healthcare Equity in Your Career
1. Recognize and address implicit bias
You need to understand how to spot bias before you can start working to eliminate it. It’s important to recognize that discrimination isn’t always obvious or even intentional. Our implicit biases, the ones we don’t even realize are affecting our judgment, are actually the most dangerous.
If your institution doesn’t offer training in implicit bias, ask why, and press further if you don’t receive a good answer.
2. Practice culturally competent care
Once you know how to avoid acting on your unconscious biases, focus on what you should do instead: Provide culturally competent care centered on the unique needs of each individual.
You can’t be familiar with every cultural practice that exists, but you can be respectful of everyone you meet, use inclusive language, and address patients by their preferred names and pronouns.
3. Support patients facing systemic barriers
You can go beyond passive respect for cultural differences by actively helping patients find ways around unfair obstacles that only impact them because of who they are. For example, patients might have undue difficulty reaching appointments if they can’t walk or use public transportation.
Be sure to be mindful of barriers you can’t see, like invisible disabilities, income disparities, and queer identities.
4. Speak up and advocate
The best way to help the patients you don’t personally interact with on a day-to-day basis is to make yourself an advocate for institutional change. If you’re in leadership, talk to your team about the importance of equity. If not, hold your superiors accountable by requesting relevant training and reporting any inequitable practices you’re aware of.
5. Get involved in equity-focused initiatives
Want to make a change even beyond your workplace? You can dedicate your time to organizations that reach out to those who might feel left out of the healthcare system. Search for health fairs, outreach clinics, and health justice nonprofits that operate in your area to find out how to get involved.
Juneteenth might be an annual reminder of the importance of justice in healthcare and beyond, but that doesn’t mean you should restrict your efforts to today. Try setting a weekly goal to take action to support equity in whatever way you can. Remember, even the smallest gesture of support can mean the world to someone who doesn’t feel welcome.
Want to join the healthcare field and start making a difference? Learn more about entry-level healthcare jobs, such as medical assistants, patient care technicians, and dental assistants.
