Perioperative nurses’ experiences of structural racism in Finnish hospital context
Siregar, Laura (2023)
Siregar, Laura
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023112731991
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023112731991
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis was to study nurses' experiences, as members of inter-disciplinary healthcare teams, of manifestation of structural racism and inequity in hospitals. The objective of this study was to analyze whether structural racism is manifested in the nurses’ work in Finland. The secondary objective of this study was to gain knowledge of the state of structural racism in the inter-disciplinary healthcare teams’ work in the Finnish context. This thesis was made in the ETHCOM-project. The results of this study will be used in co-creation of experiential learning tools that can be implemented in the ETHCOM- project.
Structural racism is a form of racism embedded in our society's structures, norms, laws and institutions. Structural racism can be seen as a mutually reinforcing systems of e.g. healthcare, housing, education, employment, where racial discrimination is manifested. Structural racism in healthcare has many dimensions when it comes to patient care, white normativity and even race corrected clinical algorithms. Also, racialized healthcare staff may face racist structures. Racism has negative effects on the wellbeing and health of individuals who endure racist structures and may lead to inequality in health and health outcomes for the populations who endure these structures. Therefore, racism affects the whole society. There are many national, international, and European efforts to dismantle racism and forces of law that protect the society from inequality. Some populations are seen more vulnerable to racism and racial discrimination.
The data were collected with open-ended questions electronically in July 2023 among perioperative nurses in HUS, Joint Authority of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District. There were only few informants who eventually participated, and the gained data were scarce. Inductive thematic analysis was used on the data gathered and mixed method was used in the analysis process. In addition, up to date news articles were included to obtain the results of this methodologically qualitative study.
Based on this study, perioperative nurses reported experiencing that everyone is treated equally but were concerned about the quality of patient guidance for linguistic minorities. Willingness to treat patients in an equal manner can be compromised due to certain factors, for instance by the language barrier and lack of resources. Perioperative nurses reported experiencing unequal treatment from their employer between doctors and nurses. Nurses feel empathy for the patients. Perioperative nurses had negative feelings, such as sadness, feeling sorry and feelings of incapability when in situations where inequality or structural racism is detected.
More research on structural racism from the healthcare and specialized healthcare perspective is needed in Finland.
Structural racism is a form of racism embedded in our society's structures, norms, laws and institutions. Structural racism can be seen as a mutually reinforcing systems of e.g. healthcare, housing, education, employment, where racial discrimination is manifested. Structural racism in healthcare has many dimensions when it comes to patient care, white normativity and even race corrected clinical algorithms. Also, racialized healthcare staff may face racist structures. Racism has negative effects on the wellbeing and health of individuals who endure racist structures and may lead to inequality in health and health outcomes for the populations who endure these structures. Therefore, racism affects the whole society. There are many national, international, and European efforts to dismantle racism and forces of law that protect the society from inequality. Some populations are seen more vulnerable to racism and racial discrimination.
The data were collected with open-ended questions electronically in July 2023 among perioperative nurses in HUS, Joint Authority of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District. There were only few informants who eventually participated, and the gained data were scarce. Inductive thematic analysis was used on the data gathered and mixed method was used in the analysis process. In addition, up to date news articles were included to obtain the results of this methodologically qualitative study.
Based on this study, perioperative nurses reported experiencing that everyone is treated equally but were concerned about the quality of patient guidance for linguistic minorities. Willingness to treat patients in an equal manner can be compromised due to certain factors, for instance by the language barrier and lack of resources. Perioperative nurses reported experiencing unequal treatment from their employer between doctors and nurses. Nurses feel empathy for the patients. Perioperative nurses had negative feelings, such as sadness, feeling sorry and feelings of incapability when in situations where inequality or structural racism is detected.
More research on structural racism from the healthcare and specialized healthcare perspective is needed in Finland.