Institutional racism and black woman health: an analysis of Brazilian scientific production

Un análisis de la producción científica brasileña

Abstract

Brazil carries in its history centuries of slavery and racist ideologies that are reflected in your current social inequalities. Studies indicates that black women have the worst access and quality of health care, which would be a consequence of institutional racism. It was evidenced that the literature remains scarce, reinforcing the need to address the issue of racism in further researches. Although racial inequality was confirmed in all articles analyzed, their conclusions were diverse and some authors interpreted the data as a consequence only of economic inequality. It was concluded that the debate on racism is of fundamental importance in combating it, and that the association of racial inequality in health services with the economic condition is a reflection of the myth of racial democracy and contributes to the maintenance of institutional racism. There is a need to raise awareness among practitioners about racism so that it is essential to consider the category “race” for equal health.