Date

5-16-2024

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Chair

Todd Schultz

Keywords

Critical Race Theory, Social Stress Theory, Discrimination, Racism, Health Disparities, cultural competency, health policies, African American Women in healthcare, racial identity, race matters

Disciplines

Counseling | Public Health

Abstract

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore access to healthcare through the lens and lived experiences of African American Women (AAW) in Midwestern towns throughout the United States. African American women and other people of low socio-economic backgrounds continue to live with poorer health outcomes than many of their counterparts African American Women experience barriers to healthcare from a unique perspective than their White counterparts. Although medical professionals endeavor to attain equal treatment among each of their patients, significant healthcare disparities are prevalent among AAW Commonly recognized ethnic stereotypes are not always intentionally supported, however, their mere existence shapes how information about a person is processed and can result in unintentional prejudices in decision-making. This well-known phenomenon is commonly referred to as implicit bias. Systemic structural obstacles and different methods of marginalization as described above, continue to plague and limit AAW’s access to quality healthcare in their neighborhoods. This research considered these factors in addition to the access to culturally competent healthcare providers and their ability to address known mental and physical health disparities among AAW through qualitative interviews.

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