Why Your Doctor Should Care About Social Justice Ted Talk Analysis (Essay Sample)

Imagine there were two patients in need of a vaccine, both from different countries, but only one shot was given to the patient with less need of the shot. This scenario has unfortunately happened already which is why Mary Bassett from the TED talk “Why your doctor should care about Social Justice”, who is a doctor, public health official, and professor, wants to help prevent this from happening again by having people learn more about social injustice in the medical field, learn about real examples, and sound the alarm with action.

In order to help prevent social injustice in the medical field, it must be understood as much as possible. Dictionary.com gives a definition of social justice saying, “fair treatment of all people in a society, including respect for the rights of minorities and equitable distribution of resources among members of a community” (Kariger). In other words, the fair treatment of anyone and everyone, including the respect of rights. Social justice can sometimes get confused with the words human rights. The main difference is that human rights are rights that everyone has as a human, while social justice are when those rights are respected and obeyed by others as well.

First, people who are in support of social justice must learn more about social injustice in the medical field. During the TED talk called “Why your doctor should care about Social Justice”, the speaker Mary Bassett, who is a doctor, public health official, and a professor, explains the two situations of injustice from a medical point of view. For example, Bassett explains that, “Medical anthropologists such as Paul Farmer, who worked on AIDS in Haiti, call this structural violence: structural because inequities are embedded in the political and economic organization of our social world, often in ways that are invisible to those with privilege and power; and violence because its impact -- premature deaths, suffering, illness -- is violent. We do little for our patients if we fail to recognize these social injustices” (Bassett 6:17). Basically, people that have the privilege and power are usually treated properly while everyone else receives violence from the impact of the social injustices. For another example, Bassett goes on explaining the logistics from New York saying that, “In New York City, premature mortality -- that's death before the age of 65 -- is 50 percent higher for black men than white ones. A black woman in 2012 faced more than 10 times the risk of dying related to childbirth as a white woman. And though we've made enormous strides in reducing infant mortality rates, a black baby still faces nearly three times the risk of death in its first year of life as compared to a white baby” (Bassett 7:38). To summarize, the early death rate before the age of 65 is 50% higher for black men compared to white men, and black women had a risk of dying more than 10 times of white women during childbirth.

Secondly, people in support of social justice in the medical field should learn some examples. According to Medicalnewstoday.com, some effects of inequality in the health are lower life expectancy, higher rates of mental ill-health, difficulty getting healthcare, and preventable death. To elaborate, the average life expectancy can vary in all sorts like, “children born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, have a life expectancy of 50 years, while children born in Japan have a life expectancy of 84 years. This is the result of dramatic differences in living conditions, income, and healthcare services. The Youth Risk Behavior Study 2009–2019 found that young people in the United States who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual experience higher levels of bullying and sexual violence than heterosexual people. This has led to an increase in rates of mental ill-health and suicide. Some studies have found that women wait longer on average for medical care when they visit the emergency department than men. Black people are more likely than white people to have babies with a low birth weight. They are also more likely to experience the loss of a baby” (Leonard 15-25). Those examples and more are necessary to learn in order to help prevent any sort of health-related inequalities.

Lastly, another way to help prevent health-related inequalities is to sound the alarm and take action. Some steps to take, according to Alpha.com, are to name and address racism, start a conversation about health inequality in the area, promote a health-in-policies approach to ensure quality lens, demand the fair allocation of community resources, and fight against the trend of growing voter restrictions. To explain, people should, “acknowledge racism as a system of structured inequity and not an individual character flaw. Name racism as a determining force in the distribution of the social determinants of health and equity. Identify the structures, policies, practices, norms and values in which racism may be operating. Health equity is more than one intervention; it’s a lens through which all of your work should be viewed. Foster an open and honest dialogue within [the] agency about historical injustices and present-day racism, bias and inequity and how they contribute to disparate health outcomes. Seek partnerships across sectors such as transportation, housing, education and law enforcement. Creating health equity requires targeted investment in marginalized and under-resourced communities. Everyone needs a voice in improving our communities, and such community participation is intrinsic to achieving health equity” (Smith 6-10). Basically, ways to act are taking note of racism, having conversation about health and equality, promote health policies, and noting that everyone has a voice. There are various ways to act in support of health-related social justices.

In confutation, people may argue that there are no social injustices in the health field. For the doctors there are a small amount of cases where social injustice takes place, but when talking about the patients, more discrimination starts to reveal itself. It may not also be seen by a witness which is why some cases are not documented and accounted for. According to Medpagetoday.com, healthcare is an example of an inequality to low income families, for instance:

If [everyone] had access to decent comprehensive affordable healthcare, from before a child was born to our last dying breath, and each and every member of our society could get what they needed to stay healthy, to prevent disease, to manage chronic medical conditions successfully, to spot dangerous health situations before they've gone too far, then perhaps the next time something like this happens, we'd be better off, we'd be ready. (Pelzman 9)

The expense of healthcare is off the charts in cost, making it difficult for people to have healthcare as an option. But that just shows one of many cases of social injustice.

In conclusion, social injustice in the health field is what Mary Bassett wants to help prevent from happening again by having people learn more about social injustice in the medical field, learn about real examples or scenarios, and sound the alarm and act. Some steps to take part in practicing social justice are name and address racism, start a conversation about health inequality in the area, promote a health-in-policies approach to ensure quality lens, demand the fair allocation of community resources, and fight against the trend of growing voter restrictions. With the action steps, it is also important to learn about the many examples and scenarios of the inequalities, as well as understanding social justice. In order to make life easier to live for everyone, people must take those steps and do more to prevent social injustice in the health field, to create a better world to be equal and live. 

Works Cited

Bassett, Mary. “Transcript of ‘Why your doctor should care about Social Justice.’” TED, 2015, https://www.ted.com/talks/mary_bassett_why_your_doctor_should_care_about_social_justice/transcript.

Kariger, Brian. “Social Justice definition & meaning.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 2015, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/social-justice.

Leonard, Jayne. “What is Health Inequity? Definition, Examples, and Root Causes.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 16 May 2021, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/health-inequity?scrlybrkr=9ac3a416#examples.

Pelzman, Fred N. “Opinion: Social Justice: yes, it's a medical issue.” Medical News,      MedPageToday, 1 June 2020, https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/patientcenteredmedicalhome/86795.

Smith, Stephen. “Social Justice and Health.” Social Justice and Health, https://www.apha.org/what-is-public-health/generation-public-health/our-work/social-justice.