Racism & Bias

Medical journals have a blind spot when it comes to race. But a blueprint for change is beginning to emerge.

Shirlene Obuobi—cartoonist and physician—shows how dark days sometimes call for a light touch.

Bias gets baked into algorithms that guide medical care. Rooting it out will take patience and cooperation.

For decades, researchers have looked at social factors to explain the greater presence of disease in Black populations. But the stress of experiencing racism causes great harm, too.

In the wake of a landmark year of activism, medical schools, hospitals and the research establishment are seeking to excise racial discrimination. How well have they done?

Gene changes related to culture may play into how disease affects the body, according to researcher Esteban Burchard.

Xóchitl Castañeda looks for the immigrants invisible to the U.S. health care system.

Jack Geiger discusses the importance of physician activism in promoting community health

The health care system still delivers poorer care, on average, to African American patients. What can be done?

MGH president Peter Slavin discusses racial disparities at the annual meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Mahzarin Banaji explores the role of personal bias in medical care.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first black woman to receive a medical degree in the United States.

Top Stories

Selected Reads

For decades, a tiny encampment of researchers has held that statin treatment is a hoax. In a time when contrarian views roar to life on social media, how can medicine keep minority opinions from doing irreparable harm?

Two years in deep space will subject the body to unprecedented stresses. Scientists are probing the secrets to survival.

A freak explosion tore through the quiet Nova Scotian city, prompting one of the most dramatic medical responses in history.