Until very recently, the pages of Canada’s foremost scholarly medical journal were starkly white, and not just the paper and screens on which they appeared.
When Dr. OmiSoore Dryden from Dal and Dr. Onye Nnorom, a colleague from the University of Toronto, first approached the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2020 looking for numbers on how many black authors they had published, the response was even gloomier than they feared: ‘I think we published one,’ said Dr Dryden , the James R. Johnson Chair in Black Canadian Studieshe remembers saying.
The interaction sparked a broader conversation about anti-Black racism with the newspaper, which culminated this fall with the publication of two special issues focused exclusively on anti-Black racism and Black health in Canada.
Right: Dr. OmiSoore Dryden.
More than two issues, the editorial initiative — initiated and stimulated by the Black Health Education Collaborative, including Drs. Dryden and Nnorom are co-founders and co-leads, and supported by Dr. Mark Hanson – created an editorial shift within the journal designed to create a more equitable and welcoming publishing environment for black researchers and scholars at the coming.
“Special issues are just the beginning, but the CMAJ Group and academic journals still need to work to address racism in systems and processes,” wrote Kirsten Patrick, the journal’s editor, in an attacker one of the problems.
However, such openness to change did not come easily, as Dr. Patrick openly admits in his article. The journal initially declined the idea of even publishing a special issue.
For Dr. Dryden, this whole experience echoed her past experiences and those of other black scholars working in medical and health research in Canada.
“It is not uncommon to receive biased and even racist criticism in response to articles or requests for funding. And, as a result, our work is denied and our funding is denied,” she says. “These are documented experiences for black researchers and scholars in Canada.”
Find the two full issues here: October 24, vol. 194, Number 41 I October 31, vol. 194, Number 42
Interrupt anti-black racism
At the heart of both special issues is a key theme of how anti-Black racism – both in the delivery of care and in the training of Black practitioners – directly impacts Black health outcomes across the country.
Topics covered in the issues range from the experiences of black medical students and how anti-black racism plays out in academic medical circles to efforts to address historical anti-black racism in the health professions and medical professions. models for integrating Afrocentric principles into health care delivery.
Dr. Dryden was joined by several other Dal fellows in submitting papers as part of the editorial brief. She hopes the issues will send a powerful message about anti-Black racism in healthcare and produce anti-racist change in healthcare systems.
“It’s not about proving that anti-black racism exists – we know it exists. It’s about providing tools for practitioners so they can embrace their role in change and acknowledge, recognize and disrupt anti-black racism,” she says.
Recommended reading: Dal’s James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies Celebrates 25 Years of Scholarly Impact
The next generation
Several of the published articles also convey an important point about a change needed to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals so that they too are able to recognize, recognize and disrupt anti-black racism and ultimately , to work to reduce health disparities and increase positive health outcomes for black people.
“Medical education and training needs to do a better job of educating people to address anti-black racism and to understand anti-black racism as ‘comorbid’ with health issues raised by black patients,” she says. “There needs to be greater accountability around anti-Black racism and Black health in all areas of health care with measurable goals.”
“Understanding how racism works is a specialty,” she says. “It’s not just about relying on personal experiences. It requires training in discourse, scholarship, research and practice. It is a specialty, a know-how. And I think there’s not enough recognition of that.
The work invested by Dr. Dryden and others in getting the special issues published was considerable – and yet another indicator of the systemic barriers in place.
“It took us almost two years to get here. It shouldn’t have taken so long. »
An overview of Dal’s academic contributions
The title of the article:
Black Health Education Collaborative: The Important Role of Critical Race Theory in Disrupting Anti-Black Racism in Medical Education and Practice (Vol. 194, Issue 41, October 24, 2022)
Authors: Delia Douglas, Sume Ndumbe-Eyoh, Kannin Osei-Tutu, Barbara-Ann Hamilton-Hinch, Gaynor Watson-Creed, Onye Nnorom, and OmiSoore H. Dryden; on behalf of the Black Health Education Collaborative
Summary:
Precisely because critical race theory offers health practitioners critical inquiry and pedagogy that would otherwise not be available to practitioners, it creates a new and impactful understanding of the root causes of race inequities. health for blacks. This serves the profession well, especially at a time when the world demands attention to long-held misconceptions about racism and “race” that now need to be corrected.
The title of the article:
Gaslighting in Academic Medicine: Where Anti-Black Racism Lives (Vol.194, Issue 42, October 31, 2022)
Author: Gaynor Watson-Creed, Associate Dean, Serving and Engaging Society at Dalhousie School of Medicine.
Summary:
Institutional betrayal behaviors, such as gaslighting victims of anti-black racism, have devastating consequences, but are rarely recognized. They play a critical role in extending the harms of racism and undermine the integrity and reputation of institutions even as institutions attempt to make meaningful gains in equity, diversity and inclusion. Groups that hold unearned privileges may be at risk of perpetrating gaslighting. Groups at high risk of racism, including faculty members who are black, but also those who experience other forms of oppression or intersecting forms of oppression, may be at high risk of institutional betrayal. Medical schools should be aware of these behaviors within their own organizations and do everything possible to identify, expose and eliminate them.
The title of the article:
“Oh, are you my health care provider?” Telling the experiences of people of African descent in Nova Scotia pursuing or working in health professions (Vol.194, Issue 42, October 31, 2022)
Authors: Nathalee P. Ewers, Rafeda Khashmelmous, and Barbara-Ann Hamilton-Hinch
Summary:
We present a deeper understanding of early experiences of anti-Black racism among aspirants and practicing medical professionals, and their experiences of navigating a system that was not designed for their success. Knowledge developed through this research can help improve health programs for racialized and other vulnerable populations and call attention to the race-based educational opportunity gap that has been postulated in Nova Scotia. Recommendations include increased representation, support programs and updated curricula. Students of African descent have demonstrated their ability, resilience, compassion and willingness to pursue a health profession; it is now up to educational and health institutions to create and maintain a space of belonging and welcome at all levels so that black students can continue to excel.
The title of the article:
African Nova Scotian Nurses’ Perceptions and Leadership Experiences: A Qualitative Study Informed by Black Feminist Theory (Vol. 194, Issue 41, October 24, 2022)
Authors: Keisha Jefferies, Ruth Martin-Misener, Gail Tomblin Murphy, Jacqueline Gahagan and Wanda Thomas Bernard
Summary:
This qualitative study clarifies how ANS ancestry is implicated in the perception and practice of leadership for ANS nurses. Nurses of SNA ancestry have identified leadership as a fundamental and integral component of nursing practice, grounded in community-centered care. This study provides new information that may inform existing strategies related to the recruitment, retention, and representation of people of ANS ancestry in nursing and other health professions, including medicine.
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