As research increasingly points to disparities in health care delivery based on race, gender and ethnicity, the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago has established the Center for the Study of Race and Bioethics (RABE) to help address the problem through scholarly research and the law.

“There remain widespread health care delivery systems that are negatively affecting minority populations and warrant further examination,” said Michele Goodwin, director of RABE and an assistant professor at DePaul. Goodwin has done extensive research in the areas of law and medicine, bioethics, and the physical and behavioral aspects of health care.

“A particularly salient example of a major health care disparity is organ transplantation. For example, African Americans have the highest rates of death due to end-stage renal disease, but many of them die without ever making it to a transplant list. There is an underlying story as to how and in what manner minorities receive the proper medical attention and advice, including whether or not their medical providers have presented them with all treatment options, such as kidney transplantation,” said Goodwin.

Goodwin also points out that “AIDS is not only a crisis in South Africa, but also in the southern regions of the United States and the South Side of Chicago.” She cites alarming statistics, noting, “over 50 percent of reported AIDS cases last year were of African Americans and that AIDS is a leading cause of death for African American women aged 25-34.”

The center will consider a broad range of topics including inadequate health care, organ transplantation, tissue experimentation, AIDS in communities of color, cultural competency among doctors, and the links between law and medicine as they relate to the physical and emotional health of minority populations.

The center currently is conducting surveys within communities of color that will examine children’s perceptions of good health and their attitudes toward the health care system; adults’ experiences with the health care system and the perceived barriers preventing proper care; and adults’ attitudes about organ transplantation. African Americans also are participating in one-on-one, in-depth interviews to help researchers understand attitudes and behaviors about AIDS and organ transplantation.

According to Goodwin, the center’s work is critical because current research indicates minorities are not only disproportionately represented among those who receive substandard health care, but also are identified as the highest among those with aggravated health problems. And, even though lower socio-economic status is often correlated with poorer health care access and health outcomes, research shows that even those minority Americans who are not economically disadvantaged often have inferior health care experiences when compared to those of non-minority Americans.

The center also will serve as a training ground for future health care attorneys, advocates and medical professionals who want to become versed in the links between race, gender and ethnicity and the delivery of legally sound medical care.

“We are positioned where law, medicine, the social services and humanities meet,” said Goodwin. “One of the center’s major goals will be to contribute to the shaping of public policy that will help eliminate barriers to health care for people of color.”

RABE will work closely with DePaul’s Health Law Institute, which Goodwin co-chairs and which is the nation’s first recognized ABA-approved program of its kind. The DePaul College of Law established the institute in 1984 and U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked it among the top 10 health law programs in the country.

Note to editors: Goodwin can be reached at 312/362-8127.