African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans represent 27 percent of the United States population, yet they constitute less than 11 percent of nurses and 8 percent of physicians. In Racism in Health Care: Alive and Well, author Marie Edwige Seneque discusses how this long history of racism continues to shortchange the national recruitment and retention of minority health care providers which contributes to racial and ethnic health disparities. Racism in Health Care: Alive and Well dismantles and examines the many layers involved in the complex health care system including physician attitude, nursing in the twenty-first century, the lack of cultural competence, and the belief that the "r" word should remain unspoken.
During extensive research, Seneque, a registered nurse, compiled already existing data regarding racial and ethnic disparities. She communicates her findings in a simplified, easy-to-read format. In Racism in Health Care: Alive and Well, she exposes the glaring disparities for minorities in the health care delivery system and why racism is alive and well in the United States.
