Thesis Defence: Navigating Medical Racism: How Black Canadian Women Experience Reproductive Healthcare in Canada

Stephanie Awotwi-Pratt, supervised by Dr. Marie Tarrant, will defend their thesis titled “Navigating Medical Racism: How Black Canadian Women Experience Reproductive Healthcare in Canada” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Power, Conflict, and Ideas Theme.

An abstract for Stephanie Awotwi-Pratt’s thesis is included below.

Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Registration is not required for in-person defences.

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ABSTRACT

Black women in the United States die of pregnancy-related causes at a three times higher rate than white women, regardless of the mother’s socioeconomic status. Systemic medical racism contributes to high morbidity and mortality rates among Black populations. Currently, there is a lack of race-based data collected in Canada. Given there is evidence of medical racism experienced by Black women in the United States, Black Canadian women may experience medical racism within the Canadian healthcare system. This study aims to understand how Black Canadian women navigate and manage obstetric racism in reproductive healthcare contexts. Trauma-informed intersectional feminist research practices empower and encourage Black women to share their experiences. Qualitative descriptive analysis was used to understand how Black women experience medical racism. Black women living in Canada actively participated in twenty-five in-depth one-on-one interviews. Five themes include: 1) Black women anticipate experiencing some form of discrimination given the known health inequalities in the U.S., 2) healthcare providers consistently dismiss Black women’s pain. 3) healthcare providers’ perception of Black women affects their care, 4) increased need for Black representation in reproductive healthcare providers, and 5) patient-centred care improves Black women’s wellbeing. This study findings show that, despite implementing strategies to overcome racism and discrimination, participants still endure forms of systemic racism. Healthcare providers need to be aware that Black women experience health disparities due to a providers’ personal bias and the systemic barriers that exist in the healthcare system. Healthcare providers must understand that Black women may withhold health information to protect themselves from negative stereotypes. Healthcare providers need training on cultural safety to recognize their implicit biases and to provide safe and equitable care. Recruiting medical professionals who reflect racially underrepresented backgrounds will help to address systemic barriers in healthcare. The evidence suggests that Black Canadian women experience medical obstetric racism even with a successful pregnancy and delivery. The Canadian healthcare system must be aware of these issues and advocate for Black Canadian women to reduce instances of medical racism.