BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: DEIJ

Healthcare Inequality Within the United States

By

On March 23, 2021

In Student Post

The healthcare field, that is painted to be a blessing for many Americans, happens to also be a huge source of fear for many Americans as well. Throughout history, our healthcare system has shown to ignore and strike fear into specific groups of people. For this reason, through years of trauma and story telling, the fear of these same healthcare systems tend to be passed down as generations pass by. Many Americans then grow up with the constant fear of the healthcare system and seeking assistance when something alarming may appear.

According to CenterJD:

  • The Harvard Medical Practice Study found, “there were significant differences between hospitals that serve a predominantly minority population and other hospitals. That is, Blacks were more likely to be hospitalized at institutions with more AEs [adverse events] and higher rates of negligence.”
  • The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found, “Blacks received poorer quality of care than Whites in 43 percent of the core measures” and “disparities in quality and access to care are growing wider in the Hispanic population.”
  • Racial and ethnic minorities are uninsured more often than non-Hispanic Whites, a status that frequently results in less than adequate care.
    • A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that compared with the insured, those without health coverage who are hospitalized are more likely to receive fewer services, experience second-rate care, and die in the hospital.

Although this CenterJD post is from 2008, it puts into perspective how medical malpractice is not only a problem of the past during chaotic events such as WWI and WWII and how medical malpractice still very much affects our society today.

As Covid-19 is the modern issue at hand for most people in the United States, we often take into question who and how quickly is Covid-19 affecting people. Pasted below are statistics around Covid-19 in relation to race and ethnicity in America.

Evidently from the statistics given by the CDC, American Indian/Alaska Natives, Black/African Americans and Hispanic/Latino persons are way more likely to die and be hospitalized by Covid-19 than their White counterparts. This may be due to a multitude of reasons stated by the CDC. They claim that “Race and ethnicity are risk markers for other underlying conditions that affect health including socioeconomic status, access to health care, and exposure to the virus related to occupation, e.g., frontline, essential, and critical infrastructure workers.”

One very prominent example of this inequality in the healthcare field is Black women in America’s healthcare system. According to Black Women’s Health Imperative, “Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications and 3-4 times more likely to suffer from severe disability resulting from childbirth compared to White women.”  Black women are also much more likely to experience birth injuries and deaths due to other factors that are engraved in our societal structure. According to AJMC, When analyzing preterm birth numbers, it is evident that women living in areas of high violent crime and high air pollution that have the highest risk of preterm birth. “Black women are 4 times more likely to live in a neighborhood with high violent crime and high air pollution than White women,” which may partially explain why there is such a difference in the birth characteristics of these two groups.  Heather Burris, a current medical doctor, stated that “both physical and psychological stressors can lead to low birth weight and other health disparities” as well. This is why we must view these issues with historical context in mind. Discrimination and Racism, such as redlining, food deserts and many other forms of control by the American systems were used and ultimately affect the way that many Black Americans and other American groups function to this day.

According to Endofound, Health conditions that disproportionately affect Black women receive less government research funding than other similar diseases. They state that “estimates reveal that nearly a quarter of Black women between the ages of 18 and 30 have [uterine] fibroids — compared with 7 percent of White women. By age 35, that number increases to 60 percent. However, NIH annual funding for the condition is $17 million — compared to $86 million for cystic fibrosis, which impacts far fewer people each year (though the great majority of those impacted are Caucasian).” Cystic Fibrosis is a much rarer disease according to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as there are around 70,000 currently living people worldwide with this condition. There are more than 200,000 cases of Uterine Fibrosis in the United States alone. Cystic Fibrosis appears to be much deadlier, however, the lack of funding in a department for an illness that is extremely common should be of concern. With more demand, more funding would seem like a plausible reaction, however, the current funding clearly shows otherwise.

 

As shown by the article’s data presented by Nature’s Alice B. Popejoy and Stephanie M. Fullerton, many racial and ethnic minority groups are still not present in genome wide association studies funded by the National Institute of Health. Popejoy and Fullerton state that “together, individuals of African and Latin American ancestry, Hispanic people (individuals descended from Spanish-speaking cultures in central or South America living in the United States) and native or indigenous peoples represent less than 4% of all samples analysed.” These numbers are ridiculous and makes it very hard for many people of color to feel as safe as their White counterparts, since there is significantly less statistical data that provides the same support and comfort in their own safety.

According to an article by Lauren Frayer, the NHS, which is the state funded company that funds health care for all in Britain, polls better than the queen, showing that British citizens are extremely fond of the system that is set in place to help all of its citizens. Richard Murray, a policy director for a health care think tank named the Kings Fund, says that it would be “electoral poison” for any political figure in the UK to advocate for privatizing the NHS. This feeling is mutual among many citizens of other countries with some form of universal health care as well. Many other countries such as Canada, Sweden, Spain and many more have very similar policies set in place to help aid citizens in getting better health care coverage. In a similar fashion the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the United States made health insurance much more attainable for some citizens but also made more complications for others citizens as well. According to healthline, “more than 16 million Americans obtained health insurance coverage within the first 5 years of the ACA. A more affordable health insurance would help many groups such as the large amounts of people who live in high crime areas and high levels of poverty such as big cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and many other similar areas. Although our country is yet to promote policies that provide realistic health care policies for all, there is always room for change and progress as we try to become more united as a country.

Universal health care coverage can be achieved in a multitude of ways and this graphic by commonwealth fund displays methods of achieving the end goal of universal health care.

 

This is evidently a multi-faceted issue as the health care problems for many groups in America are not only caused by one specific source. Our country must start by fixing the issue of widespread poverty in our country because it directly correlates to so many problems within our country including health care inequality. We must use our resources to help build up and fortify the communities that are not properly funded nor given the opportunities as many of the wealthier communities in the United States due to this lack of funding and lack of emphasis to support these areas. Without proper steps towards building these communities and making health care a more realistic option, a large amount of the United States’ population will continue to suffer and struggle for years to follow.

Alan Turing – The Father of Computer Science

By

On March 7, 2021

In Student Post

Background Information (source & source)

Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1964) was an English mathematician and logician. His works helped develop the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence. Growing up, Turing received top-notch education from private schools because his father was a civil servant for British India. They weren’t necessarily rich, but they were considered to be upper-middle class. Additionally, the headmaster of Sherborne School told claimed that “If he is to be solely a Scientific Specialist, he is wasting his time at a Public School” in response to Turing’s fascination with science at a young age.

This interest in science came from the early stages of his childhood. As Turing’s father worked in India, Turing and his older brother lived in foster homes that did not encourage creativity and research. Due to this bland lifestyle, Turing considered science to be a special experience that he eventually turned into his passion.

Turing’s academic accomplishments allowed him to study at the University of Cambridge, King’s College, and Princeton University.

 

 

 

 

Church-Turing Thesis and Entscheidungsproblem

Entscheidungsproblem is a German term meaning “Decision Problem”. The Decision Problem is described by the following scenario: Logical premises are used to reach a conclusion. From that conclusion, is it possible to create an algorithm that will determine whether or not that conclusion is true or false for all possible cases?

Turing solved this problem by creating something he called a computation machine, which is now known today as the Turing machine. A Turing machine can be represented by circles, arrows, and symbols. Each circle is a state of the machine. The symbols and arrows indicate how to transition between states. Additionally, there is something called a tape, which is an array of symbols that extends infinitely in both directions. The formal definition of a Turing machine is an ordered septuple that is made of (Q, Sigma, Gamma, q_0, h_a, h_r, and delta). Q is the set of all states, Sigma is the alphabet, Gamma is the alphabet of the tape, q_0 is the start state, h_a is the accept state(s), h_r is the reject state, and delta is the transition function. In order to understand the explanation easier, think of a TM as a theoretical computer.

Turing solved Entscheidungsproblem by creating a general TM that contains every single TM in existence. This is possible because TMs can be used to simulate other TMs and every algorithmic procedure could be carried out by a TM. In order to prove or disprove Entscheidungsproblem, Turing had to prove or disprove that there exist some specific inputs that are not recognized by the general TM. He proved that the answer to the problem was no, solving the Entscheidungsproblem. To this day, TMs are used to teach computer science, as they illustrate the basic functions of a computer.

 

World War II (source)

During WWII, the Germans were sending encoded messages to each other. The Allied forces struggled greatly due to U-boats and their orchestrated attacks. In an attempt to aid the Allies in the war, Turing and a team created a machine that could decipher their secret messages. They created a way to crack codes at a rate of two per minute, saving millions of lives and speeding up the war by two to four years in the process. There would’ve been an estimated 14 to 21 million lives lost, had the war not been sped up by the code breakers.

 

Artificial Intelligence (source)

Turing created the first computer chess program, which he called Turbochamp, while he was trying to develop artificial intelligence. Turing had his colleague Alick Glennie play against Turbochamp. Although it wasn’t able to beat Glennie, it was able to play chess at a human level, showing that computers are capable of emulating a human brain to some extent.

 

Struggle with Homophobia (source)

Turing was openly gay during his life. In 1952, he was arrested for a relationship with a 19-year-old man named Arnold Murray. In court, Turing admitted to performing “acts of gross indecency” and was convicted for it. His punishment was either prison or chemical castration. He chose the latter and lost his job due to his conviction. About 49k are estimated to have been convicted and punished similarly to Turing until the Sexual Offences act of 1967, which decriminalized homosexuality. However, Turing was found dead at the age of 41 as a result of cyanide poisoning in 1954, 13 years before the outdated laws were replaced. It is thought that he committed suicide, but there are some indications that it was a result of accidental poisoning.

In response to his persecution, Turing received a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 and will be featured on the new British £50 banknote by the end of 2021.

 

Conclusion

It is unfortunate that Turing did not get the treatment he deserved for his accomplishments. He is an extraordinary scientist who is comparable to Charles Darwin, but he is not nearly as well known. However, Turing started to become a symbol and a martyr over time, inspiring people to reflect on their discrimination in the past. I hope that Turing’s story will become more well known so that people all around the world will be able to experience it too.

 

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