Question

Describe examples from the film that illustrate how racism imposes an additional health burden on people of color. Give examples of both “everyday” racism (being treated unfairly) and “structural” racism (access to resources, power, status and wealth) and describe how these might affect health in different ways.

What did the Macaque monkey research teach primatologist Carol Shively about the connections between power, subordination and health? What parallels can we draw to human society? What did we learn from the cortisol study and the different parts of the “cold study” performed by psychologist Sheldon Cohen?

After watching the In Sickness and In Wealth episode, please provide your responses to 2 of the questions below following these guidelines.

Answer 1

Racism is a belief of thinking that one race is superior to another race .persons moral and social traits are predetermined by persons own inborn biological characteristics. Its the hatred of one person by another .The persons are ill treated in racism .

Racial discrimination like on colour of people has many health related problem. When mind senses such situations a potential stress is generated by the body to prepare for it .Body increases heart rate , breathing and blood pressure .When stress is repeated frequently over time it i mean this stress gives birth to lot of diseases like depression anxiety, insomnia, heart disease, skin diseases , GI disease and many more .

Racism on people of color puts them in a constant state of stress. Micro aggressions faced by them on daily basis act as incessant stressors that ultimately cause plaque to build up in arteries , leading to serious heart disorders like atherosclerosis and heart strokes .

Structural racism means racism embedded in institutions and structures of social life .Its also sometimes reffered as societal racism

Structural racism also has hazardous effects on life like everyday racism but it does so more in terms of stopage of access to adequate healthcare, which worsens the condition more . It Stops the access to use resources, status, and wealth that yield the kind of power and control over one's life that correlate, as previously discussed, with better health. Ultimately, racism is incredibly harmful on both micro and macro levels to the physical health and well being of people of color.

Macaque monkey research teach primatologist Carol Shively about the connections between power, subordination and health was that the dominant animal or the powerful animals have greater potential or tendency of complete control over life, they have control to create optimal life for self.They are more powerful .Subordinant animals or lower rank animals in terms of power they have no control over life,they are incapable for creating optimal life for themselves .They are masterterd by dominant animals. They have to remain in constant alert that means Always in state of restlessness ; state of chronic stress,Due to stress they have higher levels of cortisol in blood if the same is sustained for long time, there will be negative effect on health

Due to constant social stress many health related problems arise like artery of subordinant animals accumulate lot more plaque around artery which result in increased coronary heart diseases.

Comparison with humans , levels of cortisol with SES level

there is Higher SES levels , and there is less cortisol release.

Sheldon Cohen cold study it was seen that individuals exposed healthy humans to cold virus

Stress was the deciding factor in these individuals .Those with less chronic stress, caught fewer colds than those with more chronic stress caught more colds .so stress has a effect .

Higher status leads to less stress,and when there is less stress there is better immune functioning.

Thanks. Please rate the answer if satisfied.