Racism has existed since colonial times. This has been always a very sensitive topic to be dealt with different nations all over the world. It has been noted that racism is a belief that each race influence. This, according to the people distinguishes superiority among them.
The concept of racism has affected the physiological as well as the psychological well-being of the people. It poses, prejudice and discrimination. It reflects antagonism specifically against another person. There are a lot of programs done by many organizations to combat this. But it was never eradicated until this time.
Racism in the Community
Judging someone by how they look basically gives an unfair advantage for some communities. This creates friction among individuals and can be considered as wastes of human resource in the community.
What are the effects of racism?
Birth Disparities
Statistics often say that women of color are more likely susceptible to:
- Low infant birth weight
- Experience pre-term birth
- Die in childbirth
- Infant death
Some might think that the reason for these factors may probably be affected by genetics, their level of education, access to prenatal care or their socio-economic status. But according to studies, these are products of chronic racism. Chronic oppression yields to these factors when the mother is exposed to these kinds of stressors may it be institutional or interpersonal racism.
Mental Health Problems
Direct and vicarious racism creates a lot of risks when it comes to mental health status. Vicarious racism especially to parents results in a lot of stress and anxiety.
Overt forms of racism may result in racial macroaggressions. This may lead to increase rates of physical assault and killings due to race.
Health disparities of our elderly is also affected. Adults are exposed to cumulative experiences regarding racism like limited access to education, employment, housing, employment, or healthcare. All of these may increase the risk of having mental disorders in the future like depression and dementia.
Physiologic Problems
Some people who experience stress when subjected to racism becomes sick. Some would say they experience headaches, stomach aches and others may even start shaking. Chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, stroke or even cancer have been a point of interest as the impact of racial discrimination.
Assured Senior Care (ASC) strongly condemns different forms of racism. We encourage to eliminate race-related stress and promote productive aging. With ASC, improvement of health regardless of color matters.
