Research Question

I thought it would be interesting to share with you all a research question and mock study I had to pose for a previous Health Management and Policy class:

"What factors of systemic racism play a role in preventing people from receiving proper cancer screenings?"

With such a large population of people in the United States being either uninsured or under-insured, it is incredibly difficult to get the proper healthcare they so deserve. This leads to a lack of consistent primary care, forcing individuals to only seek medical attention when they absolutely cannot hold off any longer (Brooks et al., 2013). At this point, it is often too late, and a problem that could have been detected with proper screening and annual testing has become too great for the patient. My research topic will focus on increasing cancer screening in particular, with the hopes that this will aid these underserved populations and provide preventative measures. The increased screening will be offered through mobile screening units (MSUs) for early lung and breast cancer detection. Physicians from various institutes who have begun implementing MSUs noted that so many of their patients were coming in for the first time with late-stage (3 and 4) of their respective diseases, so the MSUs have the potential to be a lifesaving method. In addition to the clinical aspect of the unit, the clinicians performing the screenings will also provide health education to patients and others in the neighborhood (Healio, 2019).

The role of structural racism and/or structural inequities as a root cause of inequities/disparities in your topic area and how you could design your study to actively address structural racism and structural inequities through anti-oppressive, anti-racist, or transformative approaches

My topic directly examines the impact of structural racism and how it relates to cancer screenings. The mobile screening units (MSUs) would hopefully help improve early detection rates in underserved populations. In order measure the success of the program, I think it is important to share my findings of the study across multiple audiences. This includes community members themselves, local policy makers, and the healthcare facilities that are running the MSUs. I think this sort of active collaboration with the community is a good step in addressing structural racism and inequities. The underserved people who we are trying to help should be an active part of the conversation, where information flows both ways. This idea is discussed in the Jackson article, citing that community researchers are not often included in the entire process (Jackson, 2002). While more resources will be necessary in order to add this step to the study, I think it will absolutely be worth it to get real time feedback from the participants. Another step I can take towards addressing structural racism lies in the sampling process (Holden et al., 2016). I will need to collect data on the demographics of the communities in which the MSUs will be implemented and be sure to choose an inclusive group that is reflective of the larger community at hand. This will ensure that people of color are accurately represented in the study and hopefully the approach will be one that is replicated in studies to come.