Inequality In The American Titanic Summary
English 101
November 21,13
Social Class: Unequal Distribution Of Healthcare In The U.S.
“Inequality” and “discrimination” are words that have been around for years. For example, Subramanian and Kawachi’s article, "Social Class and Survival on the S.S. Titanic, " demonstrates how social class determined the chances of survival on the S.S. Titanic. On April 15th, 1912 the unsinkable S.S. Titanic sank. The authors explain that the chances of surviving the sinking were not equally distributed between passengers in first, second, and third class. Also, the Titanic, under British Board of trade and regulation, was not required to carry enough lifeboat accommodation for every passenger. Subramanian and Kawachi explain that the crew on the …show more content…
port side denied third class passengers, predominantly immigrants traveling to the USA, entry into the lifeboats on the first class deck. The authors also report that many of the men in third class were kept below deck until the last boats were leaving the ship. The first class passengers, predominantly Caucasian, were more likely to survive because the third class passengers were less of a priority. Although the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats to accommodate each passenger the article claims the boats were lowered without their full capacity and did not make any effort to pick up passengers.
Therefore, nearly a hundred years ago the passengers who were allowed onto the lifeboats largely determined who lived and who died. In turn, this was mostly based on their social class, thus it was social class that determined the passenger’s life chances.
The story hasn’t changed much today. Still the words, “Inequality” and “Discrimination” as well as the prejudice behavior portrayed by the crew on the S.S. Titanic, has had a massive impact on the healthcare system in the U.S. In fact, an article written by Janny Scott, reporter for The New York Times, compared the lives of three New Yorkers suffering from a heart attack. Scott sates that class informed everything from the emergency care received to the after effect of their recovery. According to the article Mr. Miele, an architect, had the best treatment and recovery of the three. The article claims that as soon as his coronary artery ruptured his colleagues were knowledgeable enough to take him to Tisch Hospital, part of the New York University Medical Center. Within minutes Mr. Miele was in surgery receiving an angioplasty to unclog his artery. Therefore, if it weren’t
for Mr. Miele’s colleagues and their knowledge of how to access care as quickly a possible, his outcome would have been greatly different. On the other hand, the article claims that out of the three New Yorkers, Ms. Gora, a housemaid, struggled to receive good healthcare and her outcome was the worst of the three. When Ms. Gora first began having heart pain she dismissed her symptoms hoping they would go away, but they didn’t and her husband finally insisted on calling an ambulance. However, when the ambulance showed up Ms. Gora was reluctant to go. She was given no choice of hospitals and was taken to Woodhull, the busiest city hospital in New York. Ms. Gora waited two hours for a physician to examine her and over the next few hours’ tests confirmed she was having a heart attack. The article also suggests that Ms. Gora was given drugs to stop her blood clotting which helped the heart attack pass, but the next day she came down with a fever and was now being treated for an infection. She never received an angioplasty to unclog her artery. Consequently, Ms. Gora’s reluctant attitude was a big contributor to the health care she received. According to Scheppers, Van Dongen, Dekker, and Geertzen, “Potential Barriers to the Use of Health Services among Ethnic Minorities,“ suggest that non-recognition of medical needs by the patient is another barrier related to healthcare and it may lead to the patient not receiving optimal medical care. Scott also claimed that Ms. Gora began receiving menacing phone calls from the collection agency about an old medical bill that was not covered by her insurance. The lack of adequate health insurance is yet another barrier in seeking or receiving healthcare treatment (Scheppers et al. 10). This may have been the reason why Ms. Gora was so reluctant to receive health services. According to Smedley, Stith, and Nelson, “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care,” the authors suggest when individuals have the same health insurance and similar access to healthcare provider as non-minorities, research indicates that racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a lower quality of healthcare than Caucasians. This could have also been the reason as to why Ms. Gora was prescribed drugs to stop her blood clotting instead of receiving an angioplasty.
Gregory Pappas’s article, “Elucidating the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and health,” suggests race is often a proxy used for social class. Pappas states, “ Even though the number of deaths due to heart disease has been declining for both Blacks and Whites the decline amongst whites is much more rapid than among Blacks.” Pappas also claims when socioeconomic factors such as income, marital status, and household size are adjusted African Americans are at lower risk for death from respiratory disease, accidents, and suicides. However, Smedley, Stith and Nelson indicate that Minorities are less likely to receive necessary services than Caucasians, including clinically necessary procedures, even after correcting for access-related factors, such as insurance status. In general this research shows that African Americans and Hispanics tend to receive a lower quality of healthcare.
This statement is significantly supported by a study based on actual clinical encounters (Smedley et al. 4). Researchers found that Doctors rated African American patients as less intelligent, less educated, more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to fail to comply with medical advice, more likely to lack social support, and less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than Caucasian patients even after patients income, education, and personal characters were taken into account. These misconceptions and stereotypical judgments may lead minorities into being reluctant when seeking healthcare. For example, Smedley, Stith, and Nelson suggest that Minorities may be more likely than Caucasians to refuse healthcare because of a poor cultural match between Minority patients and their providers. The authors also suggest that such poor match ups may lead to mistrust, misunderstanding of providers instructions, poor prior interactions with health care systems, inadequate access to private physician’s offices and clinics, or simply from lack of knowledge of how to best use healthcare services. Moreover, these barriers are just a few factors Minorities face in the healthcare system and biased judgments will lead Minorities to refuse recommended services.
Scheppers, Van Dongen, Dekker, and Geertzen also believe that unawareness of services available or a lack of knowledge about services at one’s disposal can act as a barrier to the use of health services. The authors also suggest that when ethnic minority patients have no knowledge of the function and availability of primary care workers, the use of primary healthcare will inevitably be restricted and inappropriate to his or her needs.
Unequal distribution of healthcare is due to a variety of barriers, as well as socioeconomic factors. Patients who have little income, education, and knowledge of the healthcare system are less likely to receive adequate health services (Smedley et al). Smedly et al have also shown research to date, demonstrating healthcare provider’s diagnostic and treatment decisions, as well as their feelings about patients, are influenced by patients race or ethnicity and stereotypes associated with them. Both, the lack of knowledge from the patients and the physician’s stereotypical judgment have contributed a great deal in lower class patients receiving unequal healthcare. Therefore, if these barriers and bias judgments are not addressed the patients of lower socioeconomic class will end up like the passengers on the S.S. Titanic where death was chosen for them.
Works Cited
Pappas, G. "Elucidating the Relationships between Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health." American Journal of Public Health 84.6 (1994): 892-93. Web.
Scheppers E, Van Dongen E, Dekker J, Geertzen J. "Potential Barriers to the Use of Health Services among Ethnic Minorities." Family Practice 23.3 (2006): 325-48.Oxfordjournals.org. 13 Feb. 2006. Web.
Scott, Janny. "Life at the Top in America Isn 't Just Better, It 's Longer." - Series. The New York Times, 16 May 2005. Web.
Smedley, D. Brian, Stith Y. Adrienne, and Nelson R. Alan. “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.” Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 2003. Web.
Subramanian V, Ichiro Kawachi. "Social Class and Survival on the S.S. Titanic." Social Science and Medicine 22.6 (1986): 687-90. Web.
November 21,13
Social Class: Unequal Distribution Of Healthcare In The U.S.
“Inequality” and “discrimination” are words that have been around for years. For example, Subramanian and Kawachi’s article, "Social Class and Survival on the S.S. Titanic, " demonstrates how social class determined the chances of survival on the S.S. Titanic. On April 15th, 1912 the unsinkable S.S. Titanic sank. The authors explain that the chances of surviving the sinking were not equally distributed between passengers in first, second, and third class. Also, the Titanic, under British Board of trade and regulation, was not required to carry enough lifeboat accommodation for every passenger. Subramanian and Kawachi explain that the crew on the …show more content…
port side denied third class passengers, predominantly immigrants traveling to the USA, entry into the lifeboats on the first class deck. The authors also report that many of the men in third class were kept below deck until the last boats were leaving the ship. The first class passengers, predominantly Caucasian, were more likely to survive because the third class passengers were less of a priority. Although the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats to accommodate each passenger the article claims the boats were lowered without their full capacity and did not make any effort to pick up passengers.
Therefore, nearly a hundred years ago the passengers who were allowed onto the lifeboats largely determined who lived and who died. In turn, this was mostly based on their social class, thus it was social class that determined the passenger’s life chances.
The story hasn’t changed much today. Still the words, “Inequality” and “Discrimination” as well as the prejudice behavior portrayed by the crew on the S.S. Titanic, has had a massive impact on the healthcare system in the U.S. In fact, an article written by Janny Scott, reporter for The New York Times, compared the lives of three New Yorkers suffering from a heart attack. Scott sates that class informed everything from the emergency care received to the after effect of their recovery. According to the article Mr. Miele, an architect, had the best treatment and recovery of the three. The article claims that as soon as his coronary artery ruptured his colleagues were knowledgeable enough to take him to Tisch Hospital, part of the New York University Medical Center. Within minutes Mr. Miele was in surgery receiving an angioplasty to unclog his artery. Therefore, if it weren’t
for Mr. Miele’s colleagues and their knowledge of how to access care as quickly a possible, his outcome would have been greatly different. On the other hand, the article claims that out of the three New Yorkers, Ms. Gora, a housemaid, struggled to receive good healthcare and her outcome was the worst of the three. When Ms. Gora first began having heart pain she dismissed her symptoms hoping they would go away, but they didn’t and her husband finally insisted on calling an ambulance. However, when the ambulance showed up Ms. Gora was reluctant to go. She was given no choice of hospitals and was taken to Woodhull, the busiest city hospital in New York. Ms. Gora waited two hours for a physician to examine her and over the next few hours’ tests confirmed she was having a heart attack. The article also suggests that Ms. Gora was given drugs to stop her blood clotting which helped the heart attack pass, but the next day she came down with a fever and was now being treated for an infection. She never received an angioplasty to unclog her artery. Consequently, Ms. Gora’s reluctant attitude was a big contributor to the health care she received. According to Scheppers, Van Dongen, Dekker, and Geertzen, “Potential Barriers to the Use of Health Services among Ethnic Minorities,“ suggest that non-recognition of medical needs by the patient is another barrier related to healthcare and it may lead to the patient not receiving optimal medical care. Scott also claimed that Ms. Gora began receiving menacing phone calls from the collection agency about an old medical bill that was not covered by her insurance. The lack of adequate health insurance is yet another barrier in seeking or receiving healthcare treatment (Scheppers et al. 10). This may have been the reason why Ms. Gora was so reluctant to receive health services. According to Smedley, Stith, and Nelson, “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care,” the authors suggest when individuals have the same health insurance and similar access to healthcare provider as non-minorities, research indicates that racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a lower quality of healthcare than Caucasians. This could have also been the reason as to why Ms. Gora was prescribed drugs to stop her blood clotting instead of receiving an angioplasty.
Gregory Pappas’s article, “Elucidating the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and health,” suggests race is often a proxy used for social class. Pappas states, “ Even though the number of deaths due to heart disease has been declining for both Blacks and Whites the decline amongst whites is much more rapid than among Blacks.” Pappas also claims when socioeconomic factors such as income, marital status, and household size are adjusted African Americans are at lower risk for death from respiratory disease, accidents, and suicides. However, Smedley, Stith and Nelson indicate that Minorities are less likely to receive necessary services than Caucasians, including clinically necessary procedures, even after correcting for access-related factors, such as insurance status. In general this research shows that African Americans and Hispanics tend to receive a lower quality of healthcare.
This statement is significantly supported by a study based on actual clinical encounters (Smedley et al. 4). Researchers found that Doctors rated African American patients as less intelligent, less educated, more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, more likely to fail to comply with medical advice, more likely to lack social support, and less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than Caucasian patients even after patients income, education, and personal characters were taken into account. These misconceptions and stereotypical judgments may lead minorities into being reluctant when seeking healthcare. For example, Smedley, Stith, and Nelson suggest that Minorities may be more likely than Caucasians to refuse healthcare because of a poor cultural match between Minority patients and their providers. The authors also suggest that such poor match ups may lead to mistrust, misunderstanding of providers instructions, poor prior interactions with health care systems, inadequate access to private physician’s offices and clinics, or simply from lack of knowledge of how to best use healthcare services. Moreover, these barriers are just a few factors Minorities face in the healthcare system and biased judgments will lead Minorities to refuse recommended services.
Scheppers, Van Dongen, Dekker, and Geertzen also believe that unawareness of services available or a lack of knowledge about services at one’s disposal can act as a barrier to the use of health services. The authors also suggest that when ethnic minority patients have no knowledge of the function and availability of primary care workers, the use of primary healthcare will inevitably be restricted and inappropriate to his or her needs.
Unequal distribution of healthcare is due to a variety of barriers, as well as socioeconomic factors. Patients who have little income, education, and knowledge of the healthcare system are less likely to receive adequate health services (Smedley et al). Smedly et al have also shown research to date, demonstrating healthcare provider’s diagnostic and treatment decisions, as well as their feelings about patients, are influenced by patients race or ethnicity and stereotypes associated with them. Both, the lack of knowledge from the patients and the physician’s stereotypical judgment have contributed a great deal in lower class patients receiving unequal healthcare. Therefore, if these barriers and bias judgments are not addressed the patients of lower socioeconomic class will end up like the passengers on the S.S. Titanic where death was chosen for them.
Works Cited
Pappas, G. "Elucidating the Relationships between Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health." American Journal of Public Health 84.6 (1994): 892-93. Web.
Scheppers E, Van Dongen E, Dekker J, Geertzen J. "Potential Barriers to the Use of Health Services among Ethnic Minorities." Family Practice 23.3 (2006): 325-48.Oxfordjournals.org. 13 Feb. 2006. Web.
Scott, Janny. "Life at the Top in America Isn 't Just Better, It 's Longer." - Series. The New York Times, 16 May 2005. Web.
Smedley, D. Brian, Stith Y. Adrienne, and Nelson R. Alan. “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.” Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 2003. Web.
Subramanian V, Ichiro Kawachi. "Social Class and Survival on the S.S. Titanic." Social Science and Medicine 22.6 (1986): 687-90. Web.