Racism in Health Services for Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Addressing racism within health systems and services is critical to addressing health vulnerabilities and promoting health equity for racialized populations. Currently, there is limited knowledge about the ways in which racism affects health services for adolescents. A scoping review was undertaken following the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis methodology and guided by the research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of the literature examining racism in health service use for adolescents? (2) What are the foci of the literature on systemic racism and health services for adolescents? A systematic literature search was conducted in April 2021 to identify all relevant published studies. The search identified 3049 unique articles, with a total of 13 articles included in this review. Multiple levels of racism were examined in the included articles across various health care settings. Five foci were identified: racism prevention, missed care, quality of care, racial bias, and experiences of racism. Our review indicates a current emphasis on interpersonal racism within this field of study, with emergent discussion of the impact of systemic racism. However, greater attention is needed that would investigate multiple forms of racism (institutional, interpersonal, internalized) in relation to specific contexts and adolescent populations.