Reckoning With Racial Trauma in Rehabilitation Medicine

Abstract

Fig 1 Racial distribution across UnitedStates census categories for selected rehabilitation-related health professional groups (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015). 19,20

Making a difference: Belonging, diversity and inclusion in occupational therapy

“…As evidenced from #BAMEOTUK, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists ‘Big Conversation’ and others, the experience of racism is common, with therapists and students frequently exposed to racial trauma. Similar experiences are reported by other healthcare professionals (see Mollica and Fernando, 2020; Randle 2021; Telhan et al, 2020). Just like the COVID-19 virus, racism may not be seen but can be felt; both are highly contagious – with people lacking awareness; both the virus and racism can be passed between people and without active intervention, both can be deadly.…”

Integrated Care Pathways for Black Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Critical Transdisciplinary Scoping Review of the Clinical Care Journey

“…The need to consider appropriate care pathways that consider the mechanism of injury and particularly, the needs of those experiencing TBI as a result of violence has been acknowledged (Hank et al, 2003). The importance of acknowledging the racial trauma of inequities (Telhan et al, 2020) and deprived opportunities to live a life worth living is significant in the road towards an equitable system of care and rehabilitation. A racial trauma-informed approach that considers the structural and institutional consequences of racism such as differential disparities, inequitable access, outcomes, and treatment (Telhan et al, 2020) is critical.…”

“…The importance of acknowledging the racial trauma of inequities (Telhan et al, 2020) and deprived opportunities to live a life worth living is significant in the road towards an equitable system of care and rehabilitation. A racial trauma-informed approach that considers the structural and institutional consequences of racism such as differential disparities, inequitable access, outcomes, and treatment (Telhan et al, 2020) is critical. Furthermore, ensuring that the voices of Black people are heard, especially in regard to research that impacts them, is not only important in devising interventions, programs, and models of care that meets their unique needs but also in preventing anti-Black narratives that reproduce material consequences in clinical care and life.…”

“…How does it explain why Black people lack access to care, rehabilitation, and experience differential treatment and outcomes on community integration and occupational attainment? Institutional racism produces trauma as a result of unequal life opportunities and inequitable access to health care, rehabilitation, education, and employment (Telhan et al, 2020) which disproportionately impacts Black people and those living with and caring for someone with a TBI. Table 2 provides a critical summary of the findings.…”

“…The underfunding of health equity research and the rise of racial funding disparities disproportionately impacting Black faculty continue into the present day (Stevens et al, 2021). A paradigm shift away from positivist world views and towards onto-epistemological views that reflect Black people's realities is needed to make visible racial oppression and how intersectional issues of health inequities can be understood and addressed (Telhan et al, 2020). Critical qualitative research has the potential to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and foreground how institutional racism has been normalized through the erasure of voice and first-hand Black experiences in these spaces.…”