Fox 26 Houston | Damali Keith
April 21, 2020
More Blacks are believed to be getting or dying from COVID-19 in certain areas due to underlying health conditions such as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Plus, “Not having the same access to healthcare. There’s also concern of whether or not there’s bias in the healthcare they’re receiving. When they complain of symptoms are they being heard?” asks Houston Ob/Gyn Dr. Carla Ortique who is the Co-Chair of the Improving Maternal Health Steering Committee.
Dr. Ortique has researched, for years, how bias in healthcare plays a role in African American pregnant women dying at a higher rate. Now she’s on the National Bar Association COVID-19 Task Force, looking into if something similar is happening.
“Most times in the medical field it’s unconscious bias that we’re talking about. It’s not a person who consciously says I don’t like black people so I’m going to treat them differently.”
More at Fox 26 Houston.