Healthcare and Structural Violence

When people who are a member of a certain social order are subjected to systematic acts of violence that prohibit them from fulfilling basic human needs like access to healthcare, this is referred to as structural violence.


Because of this, structural violence disproportionately affects members of certain socioeconomic strata, subjecting them to various forms of oppression. Poverty, racism, and gender inequality are traits of social institutions that endure this kind of violence. In the majority of countries, structural violence is a major contributor to health disparities because it prevents people from getting the care they need, which has an impact on their overall health. This topic is relevant as structural violence aids in reintegrating people's understanding of health since it not only emphasizes but also illuminates the role played by social, political and economic forces in health disparities.


Bibliography


Farmer, P. (2004). An Anthropology of Structural Violence. Current Anthropology, 45(3), 350-375.


In the article “An Anthropology of Structural Violence” Paul Farmer; one of the prominent advocates of health equity around the world, argues that structural violence is highly characterized by not only poverty but also steep grades of social inequalities which include both gender inequality and racism. According to the article structural violence is in most instances directed towards people belonging to a specific social order. Owing to his knowledge in medicine, social science, anthropology as well as infectious diseases, Farmer argues that social determinant of health are very important.


Through the healthcare lens, the author points out that, diseases such as TB and AIDS are perfect laboratories, thus for the study and analysis of structural violence. This is because TB and AIDS are biosocial phenomena which are primarily shaped by political economy, history, geography inclusive of people’s and societies’ social contexts. Farmer further maintains that the, two diseases to a great extent disproportionately affects people living in poverty, such poverty is usually closely linked to structural racism and gender inequality and as a result, such people are unable to access healthcare.


One of the strengths of the articles is based on the fact that it possesses a coherent and logical flow of ideas. The author also draws information from various field such as medicine, social science, anthropology to discuss the issue of structural violence. However, one of the primary weakness of the article is that the author fails to analyze or rather incorporate other author’s works or findings in his article. The article is crucial in the research as it directly addresses the issue of structural violence in healthcare with reference to racism and gender inequalities.


Bailey, Z. D., Krieger, N., Agénor, M., Graves, J., Linos, N., & Bassett, M. T. (2017). Structural Racism and Health Inequities in the USA: Evidence and Interventions. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1453-1463.


The article by Bailey et al. points out that despite the growing interest in social factors that contribute to health disparities most of the policymakers, journalists, scientists, as well as the elected officials, are reluctant to point out racism as the cause of health disparities. In accordance with the article, some of the ways of addressing health inequity as a result of structural racism; there is the need for intersectoral work which majorly guided by frameworks. Analytical insights acquired from systems perspectives help in the development of health equity solutions. Also, partnerships regarding place-based and multi-sector initiatives help eliminate structural racism.


The article has several strengths such as it has some content drawn from other research works providing a deeper understanding of the structural racism and health inequities. Another strength associated with the article is the use of easy to understand language without a lot of vocabularies and scientific terms. The journal article is effective as compares the most carried out research between racism health with structural racism and its adverse effects. This aspect provides insight into a new venture that not many researchers have indulged in, thus enlightening the reader with new information. The article is helpful and covers gap points in research as many people had only tackled the aspect of racism and health and not the negative effects regarding inequity of structural racism.


References


Bailey, Z. D., Krieger, N., Agénor, M., Graves, J., Linos, N., & Bassett, M. T. (2017). Structural Racism and Health Inequities in the USA: Evidence and Interventions. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1453-1463.


Farmer, P. (2004). An Anthropology of Structural Violence. Current anthropology, 45(3), 350-375.

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