Angelina Jolie, an Academy Award-winning actress and well-known humanitarian, has taken a courageous stand to bring attention to grave racial disparities in health care, particularly the preference given to those with white skin.
She is promoting a much-needed change to ensure equitable healthcare access for everyone, acknowledging that her own children have been put in danger because of these disparities. The 48-year-old actress, director, and mother of six has recently written an opinion piece for the American Journal of Nursing.
The actress, meanwhile, also advocates for teamwork, urging decision-makers, healthcare providers, and the general public to band together in the struggle for equal access to healthcare.
Angelina Jolie Criticizes the ‘Prioritization Of White-Skin’ in Healthcare
Angelina Jolie is speaking out against racial inequities in health care by using her platform.
The George Wallace actress recently wrote an essay for the American Journal of Nursing that underlined a need for new technology that can discover bruising in patients with dark skin tones. This technology may aid end the resource gap for abuse survivors of color.
As a mother of six, some of whom are not white like her, Jolie also talked about how she has observed racial biases and disparities in the medical profession.
“As the mother of children of multiple races, I have seen my children of color be misdiagnosed, at times in ways that endangered their health.”
For the unversed, the actress’ eldest kids are adopted: Maddox Chivan Jolie, 21, is of Cambodian descent, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, 19, of Vietnamese descent, and Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, 18, of Ethiopian descent.
In addition, she and her ex-husband, Brad Pitt also share three biological children.
Angelina Jolie Explained the Need for Competent Technology
Angelina Jolie, who is renowned for her fearless advocacy work, emphasized the necessity for healthcare providers to address the aforementioned implicit biases. Later in her essay, she went on to examine the need for capable technology and procedures that can help patients with a range of skin tones.
“Without use of the best available technology to detect bruising, abuse survivors of color are at a significant disadvantage in having their injuries properly identified and documented, are at greater risk for further abuse, and have less of a chance of receiving justice or medical care.”
The Unbroken director related a personal anecdote that illustrated how her own family has been impacted by racial bias in the medical field.
“When my daughter Zahara, who is from Ethiopia, was hospitalized for a medical procedure, the nurse told me to call her ‘if she turns pink near her incisions.’ I stood looking blankly at her, not sure she understood what was wrong with what she had said.”
Jolie went on to add.
“When she left the room, I had a talk with my daughter, both of us knowing that we would have to look for signs of infection based on our own knowledge, not what the nurse had said, despite her undoubted good intentions.”
Well, a new wave of discussion about racial disparities in health care has already been sparked by Jolie’s outspoken support.
Considerably, she hopes that by using her platform to raise awareness of this important issue, she will motivate decision-makers in the medical community, and regular people to address and end these injustices.
Source –American Journal of Nursing
