Black Experiences
What are common ways anti-Black racism manifests in Canadian healthcare?
stereotyping
dismissal of symptoms
unequal treatment
What is cultural safety and why is it important in Indigenous healthcare?
Ensuring healthcare is respectful of Indigenous culture and avoids discrimination
Name a specific physical barrier that may complicate access for a disabled person seeking healthcare or assistance?
A clinic or hospital entrance without a wheelchair ramp, making it difficult or impossible for someone with mobility impairments to enter.
Heavy, non-automatic doors that a person using a wheelchair, walker, or crutches cannot open independently.
Exam tables that cannot be lowered, preventing many disabled patients from safely transferring onto them.
"Differences in the quality of care and treatment between populations" refers to which type of disparity?
Healthcare disparity
How might "nothing about us without us" relate to our discussion on Black and Indigenous persons with disabilities in the healthcare system?
Ensures Black and Indigenous disabled people are included in decisions about their own healthcare
Prevents policies that are racist, colonial, or ableist from being made without their input
Leads to care that is culturally safe, accessible, and aligned with community needs
Recognizes lived experience as expertise in designing effective services
Promotes true autonomy and self-determinism in healthcare
How does mistrust of the healthcare system affect health-seeking behavior in Black communities?
Can lead to delayed care
Avoidance of medical services
In what ways can Indigenous-led health governance improve care for Indigenous communities?
Self-governance
Traditional knowledge integration
Community-directed services
What systemic or structural barriers beyond the built environment might disabled people face when trying to access healthcare?
Long wait times or understaffed clinics, which disproportionately affect people who need frequent or time-sensitive care.
Lack of disability-inclusive policies, such as no support for communication accommodations or personal care attendants.
Medical ableism, where providers dismiss symptoms, overlook pain, or attribute every issue to the disability itself.
Limited coverage or financial barriers, where essential supports, mobility devices, or therapies aren't fully funded.
Complicated referral systems, making it hard for disabled people to navigate multiple appointments or specialists.
Lack of accessible communication, such as no ASL interpreters, inaccessible appointment booking systems, or medical information not available in simple language.
What are some overlapping factors or barriers (think the venn diagram) that contribute to higher health disparities amongst both Indigenous and Black communities?
Systemic racism in healthcare
Medical distrust from historical harms
Poverty and socioeconomic inequities
Environmental racism
Underfunded or inaccessible services
What does the article about psychiatric abuse against members of the Black Panther Party we read previously for class reveal about Black experiences with healthcare?
Shows how healthcare systems were used as tools of control and punishment against Black activists
Reveals medical racism, including misdiagnosis and harmful treatments rooted in anti-Black bias
Demonstrates how Black people's pain, trauma, and political struggle were stereotyped instead of understood
Highlighted ongoing barriers Black communities face when seeking fair, respectful mental health care
What policies or interventions coud reduce health disparities experienced by Black Canadians?
Anti-racist training
Diversity in healthcare staff
Equity-focused policies
How might residential schools contribute to health disparities?
Trauma
Intergenerational effects
Distrust in institutions
How might the medical perception of disability (which paints disability as something to fix or something inherently associated with poor health) complicate access to healthcare for people with disabilities?
Misdiagnosis or dismissal, where real symptoms are blamed on the disability instead of being taken seriously since disability is often portrayed as the root and only cause of pain/symptoms/sickness.
Less respectful or rushed care, because disabled patients are viewed as "complex" or "difficult."
Avoidance of the healthcare system, since past experiences of judgement or ableism make people hesitant to seek help.
Lack of patient autonomy, where providers assume they know what's best rather than listening to the patient's lived experience.
Reduced investment in accessibility, because disability is treated as an individual medical issue instead of a social barrier.
Based on the case study about Nell Toussaint, what barriers contributed to her severe health outcomes?
Delayed or denied medical treatment for serious conditions
Financial barriers that prevented her from seeking care earlier
Systemic discrimination against uninsured/undocumented people
Fear of deportation, leading to avoidance of hospitals
How might the week one reading about the labeling of Indigenous students as disabled due to language and cultural differences help us understand similar mislabeling or mistreatment of Indigenous patients in the healthcare system?
Shows how cultural and language differences get misread as deficits rather than understood in context
Reveals a pattern of mislabeling Indigenous people are "disabled," "noncompliant," or "difficult" due to colonial bias
Highlights how systems prioritize Western norms while dismissing Indigenous ways of communicating, healing, and learning
Demonstrates how these biases lead to mistrust, misdiagnosis, and inappropriate treatment in healthcare
Helps explain why Indigenous patients often face racism, stereotyping, and unequal care in medical settings