Our Distrust Started Before Tuskegee

The health care provided to African Americans in the United States has always been behind that of white Americans for many reasons. In the early part of the 20th century, the bias, bigotry, racism, and neglect that we suffered as a people were reflected in our health care. David McBride discusses the history of the medical community’s treatment of African Americans in his book From TB to AIDS: Epidemics among Urban Blacks Since1900.

The health issues that impacted African American in the 1920’s and 1930’s were significant and well-documented. TB was considered the gravest threat to black health since blacks were three times as likely as whites to die from the disease. This was primarily due to the lack of adequate TB treatment facilities for blacks.

African Americans’ distrust of the medical profession is said to have started with the infamous Tuskegee experiments, but after reading such accounts as McBride’s book we understand that these attitudes are even more deeply routed in our history. Health care providers should know and be influenced by this history in order to better serve African American patients. Clearly, we have our work cut out for us. I am Dr. Thaddeus John Bell --- Closing the Gap in Health Disparities for African Americans.

Bell Update Volume 3, Chapter 6

Copyright February 2008