| Abstract: |
The COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to health disparities and racism in healthcare. The first step in addressing racial disparities in healthcare is acknowledgement that there is a problem. Palliative care teams have an obligation to recognize how racism shows up in healthcare and in turn how it affects racially marginalized patients. Clinicians must engage in self-reflection by assessing their own conscious and unconscious biases that impact the clinician/patient dyad, by understanding their social location, and by using assessments and interventions that are grounded in cultural humility and awareness of racial trauma. This paper examines racism in healthcare, the psychological impact of racism when working patients, techniques for clinicians in palliative care to address their own biases, and implications for clinical practice. It includes a composite case study of a patient navigating pain management, illustrating how racism can impact the care of BIPOC and AAPI patients. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024. |
