Bias Can Affect Outcomes; Black Families Need Support

As the Black mother of three sons, including twins with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), I have had more experiences with bias and the health care system than I can count.

For example, when my son was a teenager, he had just finished multiple rounds of IV pain medicine in the outpatient clinic for a sickle cell pain crisis. Feeling dizzy and drowsy from medication, he sat alone in a wheelchair, wearing a hooded sweatshirt in the cold and damp parking garage, while I had to briefly leave him to get the car. When I did, he removed his hood despite the cold, and knowing that exposure to cold could cause the sickle cell pain to increase. But he feared he'd be seen as a threat rather than as a patient. Even as a teenager, he didn't want any problems and was aware of the possible perceptions. 

When my sons transitioned to adult care, they faced random drug tests before receiving essential medication because older SCD patients are sometimes unfairly labeled as drug-seekers. It made me wonder: Was that influenced by the SCD patients’ demographics? 

What I’ve learned from these two experiences and many others is: All things being equal, Blackness forcibly affects your outcomes.