On June 29, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the cases involving Harvard University and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill that colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in admissions processes.
The Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington and the community representatives on its Advisory Board do not support this decision against affirmative action. We affirm our commitment to racial equity and justice for the Latinx community and for all peoples. We will not be deterred from our commitment through our research, scholarship, and professional expertise to support and mentor graduate and professional students in the health sciences who are the next generation of Latinx scholars and leaders.
There exists a critical need to diversify the healthcare workforce across disciplines. For example, the urgent need for more Latinx physicians was highlighted in our recent report on the Latinx physician workforce study (1) in our state. According to the most recent data from the state medical commission, only 4% of the state’s currently active physicians identify as Latino or Hispanic. This percentage stands in stark contrast to the 14% of the state’s population that identifies as Latino/Hispanic. This disparity in racial/ethnic representation highlights serious concerns about equitable access, quality, and outcomes of care for Latinx communities across our state.
We recognize the long-standing disparities in access to linguistically and culturally competent health care–inequities largely fueled by historic practices of exclusion, discrimination, and unequal opportunity in higher education. Research consistently supports the notion that Latinx patients experience notable benefits when receiving care from healthcare providers and practitioners who share their cultural and linguistic background. (2) The advantages of cultural and linguistic concordance in healthcare delivery include improved patient-provider communication, greater satisfaction and trust in the healthcare system, improved treatment adherence, and increased continuity of care.
We, the Latino Center for Health and the community representatives on its Advisory Board, in solidarity with urban and rural Latinx communities, stand firm in our commitment to promote the diversification of the health sciences’ workforce with skilled and culturally responsive Latinx providers and practitioners.
(2) https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/hispanic-americans-experiences-with-health-care/