TY - JOUR T1 - Race and racism: are we too comfortable with comfort? JF - BJGP Open JO - BJGP Open DO - 10.3399/BJGPO.2020.0143 VL - 4 IS - 5 SP - BJGPO.2020.0143 AU - Dipesh P Gopal AU - Salman Waqar AU - Victoria Silverwood AU - Ebrahim Mulla AU - Olamide Dada Y1 - 2020/12/01 UR - http://bjgpopen.org/content/4/5/BJGPO.2020.0143.abstract N2 - After the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, there has been a renewed appetite to tackle racism in all aspects of life. Within medicine and especially primary care, many people seem unclear about the racial disparities in health contexts, society, and beyond. This editorial highlights how racism and racial disparities can interweave and influence a day in the life of a GP.PractisingIt can be easy to miss the health disparities between White people and non-White people in the four walls of our consulting rooms and busy appointment lists. It is well known that people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities experience poorer health outcomes than their White counterparts. This phenomenon occurs across many different diseases1. In some cases its role is well-known, as in diabetes; it is lesser known in other cases such as asthma and cancer care. It’s particularly striking to note a fivefold higher maternal mortality2 among Black women compared to White women in the UK. Socioeconomic factors are more likely than genetic factors3 to explain why some groups experience more illness than others.A significant proportion of patients from ethnic minorities struggle to get the healthcare they need,4 are afraid to complain about their local health services, and feel they have little influence on improving them. This raises questions about how we perceive non-White people. Systematic review data identified that negative implicit bias5 in healthcare providers towards people from ethnic minorities is linked to poor interactions, such as less respect and worse patient outcomes. Furthermore, racism (treating other people differently based on their ethnic origin) is associated with poorer physical and mental health.6‘If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.’ Maya AngelouTeachingMany GPs … ER -