Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Physical and Mental Health Care and Clinical Trials.

Abstract

Historically, in the United States, scientific racism has been used to justify differential treatment of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) populations compared with the White population. Discrimination toward BIPOC populations by the medical community has contributed to racial and ethnic disparities in health care that persist to this day. At the 2022 American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Annual Meeting, a panel of 5 experts from the areas of academia, advocacy, and clinical research discussed racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care. This Academic Highlights summarizes and expands on that discussion by tracing the history of scientific racism from the colonization of the US to present-day health inequities, illustrating the ongoing problem of low diversity in clinical trials, and outlining solutions through community engagement.