Letters to the Editor
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very good article
Very nicely done doctor. I think the lack of African-American MD's working in inner city neighborhoods, not in hospitals but as general practitioners, also results in a lack of medical treatment. There is a distrust of doctors by African-Americans, because they (we) rarely go to the doctor and know very few doctors in our community. Because of expense, growing up, I didn't visit a doctor unless it was an emergency. No preventative care, no advice from MDs on eating or exercise, no treatment for ongoing conditions. Meanwhile doctors, dealing with patients who are distrustful of the medical community and lacks knowledge about their own health, fall into common stereotypes about the people they are treating. Confronting the problem is the first step.
If health care becomes more affordable, more African-Americans, indeed more Americans, will begin to seek treatment.