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The American Academy of Pediatrics is vowing to eliminate “race-based” medical guidance that has resulted in health disparities and inequalities.
On Monday, the organization announced anew policywhere the AAP will “critically examine, deconstruct, retire, if necessary, and revise all practice guidelines and/or policies that include race assignment as a part of clinical decision-making.”
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Wright explained that the academy will work directly with medical schools, academic health systems, schools of medicine and accrediting bodies to ensure health-equity curriculums.
For example, the AAP alreadyretired a guidelinein August 2021 based on an indeterminate idea that Black children have a “lower risk” for urinary infections than their white counterparts. The organization is also planning to retire another inaccurate guidance regarding newborn jaundice sometime this summer, according to theAssociated Press.
“[Even] when practiced in good faith, race-based medicine is bad medicine that leads to inequitable medical care and hurts the health and well-being of people of color,” the Augusy policy states. “Given the clear evidence and overwhelming consensus that action was needed, the AAP Board of Directors took this firm stance against the use of race-based medicine in our current and future policies and is continuing its efforts to address previous harms and promote equity and transparency throughout all AAP core activities and functions, including education, programs, policy and research.”
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She also noted the need for continuous reanalysis of these longstanding practices, regardless of the intent, as they’ve been harmful to patients.
“We can’t just plug up one leak in a pipe full of holes and expect it to be remedied,” Heard-Garris told the outlet. “This statement shines a light for pediatricians and other healthcare providers to find and patch those holes.”
source: people.com
