Race correction is the use of a patient’s race in a scientific equation that can influence how they are treated. Dr. Samuel Cartwright claimed in 1851 that Black people have weaker lungs. Doctors still use spirometers today, and most include a race correction for Black patients to account for their supposedly shallower breaths. The argument over race correction has raised questions about the scientific data doctors rely on to treat people of color. It’s attracted the attention of Congress and led to a big lawsuit against the NFL. What happens next could affect how millions of Americans are treated, experts say. to fight this kind of bias, hospitals urge doctors to rely on objective measures of health. But medical students say: Math shouldn’t be racist. The biggest problem with race isn’t a biological problem in medicine; it’s a social one, too, says Dorothy Roberts, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, who has made challenging race in medicine her life’s work. But Tiger Woods says race is a completely invented social category, and it’s not always an accurate reflection of their ancestry. The idea that human beings are divided into races is a made-up idea, Roberts says. “It’s based on this idea that humans are naturally divided into these big groups called races,” she says. ‘s “History Refocused” series features surprising and personal stories from America’s past to bring depth to conflicts still raging today. The series is on CNN.com/soulmatestories, Sundays at 10 a.m. and 11 a. m. ET. For more, go to CNN.co/soulsoulmaters and follow CNN Living on Twitter @cnnliving and @jennifer_louis. For confidential support, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. For support in the U.S., call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org, or go to www.s Samaritans.com/. For confidential help in the United States, call 1-877-457-9090 or visit the National suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-8457-90 90 90, or visit http://www.-samaritan.org/helpline. In the UK, contact Samaritans on the Samaritans, on the University of London and England on 08457 909090 or or the University of London on 0800 909090, or in the UK on 0808 9090, England on 0808 0, UK on 08457 9090. In the U S., contact the National Institute of Health and Human Services at 1 800-847-1088. For confidential support on suicide matters, call the National Suicide prevention Lifeline on 1 8457 9088.
A new study suggests that doctors are using race to make decisions about patients’ health. But the study’s authors say the results aren’t necessarily accurate.
