The Problem with Race-Based Medicine

Date of Review: January, 2020

This resource is a TEDMed Talk presented by the sociologist Dorothy Roberts that describes her opinion on the importance of abandoning race-based medical practices. Roberts argues that race is used to make false biological predictions that diverts attention and resources from the social determinants of health. This resource may be beneficial for practicing health providers to guide their practice and engage them in careful consideration of the structural inequalities and discrimination that produce the biological impacts that are incorrectly attributed to race. I look forward to adding this to our curriculum as it clearly unmasks our current practices rooted in race-based medicine, this is a great talk for all students in health care professions and I learned so much from watching it! — Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, NCAS