Dismantling "Race" in Health Research.

In this era of confronting racism in public space, it is critical to keep addressing the covert systemic racism in the healthcare system. We want to bring attention to the continued unscientific practice of race-based medicine and the absurdity of treating race as a biological indicator in the 21st century. We believe race is a social construct that does not qualify as a scientific biological indicator for predicting health outcomes. In this paper, we first present arguments for inappropriate use of race in health research and then discuss alternative explanations for health disparity findings that use race as a predictor. Our main concern centers on two specific aspects of the concept of "race": (1) its fundamental lack of scientific basis as a predictor for health outcomes, (2) the misguided narrative that the term creates, placing the onus of racial discrimination on the victim, instead of highlighting the act of discrimination and the role researchers play in actively reinforcing racism when using "race" as a variable. We conclude by proposing that "race" be replaced by the variable "racism" in health.

Hypersensitivity in patients receiving metal implants: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to gather the available evidence on metal hypersensitivity to determine the extent of the problem and identify gaps in the evidence about screening practices. INTRODUCTION: Hypersensitivity to metal was first reported in 1966. Since this time, the use of metal in prosthetic devices has increased with an associated rise in reported hypersensitivity reaction to other metals. Symptoms of metal hypersensitivity can be subtle, and it is unclear whether clinicians are aware of or routinely ask patients about metal hypersensitivity when documenting allergies. This can lead to a delay in diagnosis, which puts patients at risk of poor outcomes. Hence, there is a need to map the available evidence on hypersensitivity reaction in people who receive metallic device implantation. INCLUSION CRITERIA: The review will consider studies that include patients who undergo procedures involving metal implantation. The concept to be explored is hypersensitivity following a procedure that involves the implementation of a device with metal components. Implementation is defined as permanent integration of a foreign (non-biological) object into the human body to restore function. METHODS: The proposed scoping review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Searches will be generated in multiple databases and updated as needed. Gray literature and organizational websites will also be searched. Titles, abstracts, and full articles will be screened according to the inclusion criteria. Studies published in English from 1960 to the present will be included. Data will be extracted and findings will be presented in tabular form with a narrative summary.