Case Study: Provider Bias And Inequality Of Care

B. Provider Bias and Inequality of Care
Wang et al. (2001) conducted a study, which found that African Americans were relatively unlikely to receive guideline-based care. Gaps in quality encompass the elderly and seriously mentally ill African Americans. Many African Americans in the study were frustrated by the narrow focus on medications among mental health professionals. The medication-centered focus of the clinician clashed with the focus of the participant (Carpenter- Song et al, 2010). Finally, rather than being viewed as a helpful resource, some African Americans felt “controlled” by their mental health providers (Carpenter-Song et al, 2010). Racism and discrimination have also been recognizable in the provision of medical care. They
African American women are considered one of the most religious groups in western culture. Religion has historical and ancestral prefixes that are linked back to Africa. Religion has been intergenerationally passed down as a coping mechanism. Internal pseudo-harmony describes to the enactment of psycho- emotional peace through justification and spiritual or religious codependence, which works to create a feeling of psycho-emotional, physical, and socioeconomic safety (Chandler, 2010). During times of duress, the Black church has often become the converging point for social and political forces (Chandler, 2010). Blacks were excluded from all formal service systems—from schools and hospitals to banks and churches— therefore, Black churches consistently became more than places of worship (Chandler, 2010). Beyond the church being pivotal to religious and spiritual doctrine, and education, it became Blacks’ primary physical and psychological health facility (Chandler, 2010). The ministers or pastors advocation for or against therapy plays a prominent role in African Americans actively seeking therapy. According to Boyd-Franklin (2003), spirituality has been a survival mechanism that has contributed to the resiliency of African American women in coping with the psychological trauma of racism, discrimination, sexism and oppression. The high
The term Ubuntu means “I am because we are” and emphasizes the importance of community to gain a greater understanding of our individual self (Wilson and Williams, 2013). Ubuntu therapy is a client- centered approach that seeks to understand the client from their personal worldview. This approach seeks to modify the treatment approach to fit with the client’s specific challenges (Van Dyk and Nefale, 2005). During the process of engaging in Ubuntu therapy, the client begins a healing process that promotes consciousness and empowerment. There are three dimensions of Ubuntu therapy. First, the context of the client’s relationship with God and ancestors is explored and the therapist should determine how that relationship is characterized (Van Dyk & Nefale, 2005). During second dimension of Ubuntu therapy, the therapist explores the interrelationships of family, group, and community and explores how those relationships could be “characterized by feelings. The third dimension explores the client’s interpersonal relationships that can consist of feelings of rejection, power struggles, interdependence, or rigidness (Van Dyk & Nefale, 2005). During this level, the therapist works to help the client build more positive interpersonal relationships, which then helps the client to feel more valued and