Systemic: How Racism Is Making Us Ill

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'A work of towering importance that will undoubtedly change science and save lives, but it will also change the way you see yourself and the people around you' Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People First, do no harm. All doctors train under this ethos, but what happens when harm comes not from conscious actions, but unconscious bias Then, do the research. People of Black or Asian ethnicity in England wait longer than white people for a cancer diagnosis Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are nearly four times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than non-Indigenous Australians The majority of Black therapy patients in Germany have had their experience of racism dismissed by their mental health counsellor In Systemic, science journalist Layal Liverpool unearths the shocking research and articulates the vital solutions to the potent health threat of racism in society, science and medicine. Across the world, in every country she has studied and in every area of medicine she has examined, people belonging to marginalised racial and ethnic groups disproportionately experience poor health outcomes with people of colour often experiencing worse health compared with White people. Systemic uncovers the insidious impact of systemic racism on our health and provides a framework for a way forwards: From cardiovascular disease to viruses, cancer to mental illness, Liverpool delves into the reasons racial health disparities exist and reveals that diseases are not great equalisers not when you live in an unequal society. She shows how the widespread adoption of anti-racist medical standards and societal policies will be central in creating a healthier world for everyone.

Author Bio

Layal Liverpool is a journalist whose work spans diverse science topics, including technology, physics, the environment and health, with a particular focus on inequalities in science, health and medicine. Her writing has appeared in Nature, New Scientist, WIRED, the Guardian and elsewhere. Before moving into journalism, Layal worked as a biomedical researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford. She has a PhD in virology and immunology from the University of Oxford. This is her first book.