Race and ethnicity in health and medicine
What: Public discussion
When: November 7, 2017
Recording a patient's places of origins is next to standard medical practice around the world.
In some cases, this record will include the patient's ethnic or racial affiliation. The assumption is that this knowledge will allow for better assessment of health risks, assist in diagnosis and guide prescription.
But racial and ethnic (self-)identifications are notoriously inconsistent, while researchers alert to how problematic and potentially harmful their use is.
In this discussion, we will explore the contemporary uses of race and ethnicity in the context of health and medicine.
We ask if such categories, even if not understood as biologically real, could be seen as useful tools in medical research and practice. And we will discuss the possible social, ethical and policy implications of their continued use.