Ep94: Facing up to racial bias

In today’s podcast we try and understand the impact that racial bias makes on variation in clinical care. For example, racialized patterns in the use of analgesia were brought to light over 20 years ago but are still occurring today. In research from the UK published in March it was found that women of African or South Asian extraction were significantly less likely to receive an epidural during vaginal birth, or instrumental assistance with the delivery. The direct reasons for this variation were not revealed by the study, and could simply reflect the preferences of different cultural groups. But if that’s the case, it behoves us to address gaps in health education in a culturally sensitive way. 

This podcast highlights the subtle drivers of racialized disparity at different layers of service delivery. At an individual level implicit bias can affect clinical decision-making. At an institutional level there may be known resourcing issues not being addressed, like availability of translators to help diverse patients understand what they’re consenting to. And all this takes place within the context of structural racism, the inequity that was long ago baked into society’s power structures. That’s particularly true in colonised countries like ours, so we also ask what it means to “decolonise” medicine. 

Guests
Wendy Edmonson PhD (Cultural Advisor, RACP)
Dr Kudzai Kanhutu FRACP GAICD MPH (Dean, RACP; Deputy Chief Information Office, Royal Melbourne Hospital)
 
Production
Produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Recording assistance from Jon Tjhia in Melbourne and Fiona Croall in Adelaide.
 
Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘You break down’ by Czar Donic and ‘Repurposed’ by Cody Francis. Music courtesy of Free Music Archive includes ‘New Times’ by 4T Thieves and ‘Chasing Shadows’ by Scott Holmes. Image by rubberball licenced from Getty Images. 

Editorial feedback on this episode kindly provided by physicians Sern Wei Yeoh, Aidan Tan, Rachel Murdoch, Priya Garg, Fionnuala Fagan, Phillipa Wormald, Amy Hughes and RACP staff Fiona Hilton, Rebecca Lewis, Michele Daly, Alexandra Kinsey. 

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