Reasearch Supervisor: Prof Gregory Radick - History and Philosophy of Science - Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures - The University of Leeds.
Background:
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a serious genetic conditions, disproportionately affecting individuals of African, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern heritage in the UK and globally. Despite efforts to prevent this such as the creation of guidelines, affected individuals report experiencing inadequate pain management, delayed intervention, and dismissive healthcare proffesionals.
This research will examine Categorical thinking (the cognitive tendency to apply group-level assumptions to individual patients). With the guidance of Prof Gregory Radick at the University of Leeds, I will make use of various forms of infortmation to investigate how racial bias, SCD stigma, and institutional resistance to change can lead to the creation of “drug-seeking" labels, scepticism about self-reported pain, and assumptions tied to race and social class. I will critically examine the way each of these factors interact and negatively affect SCD care and outcomes in UK hospital settings.
Objectives:
- Define "categorical thinking" within clinical decision-making contexts
- Review literature on implicit racial bias and its role in SCD pain management
- Identify patterns of under-treatment or care delay due to bias and misconception
- Assess interactions and effects of UK-specific factors such as NHS structure, workforce diversity and policy
- Turn findings into realistic and actionable recommendations for practice and policy
Motivation:
As a member of the black-british community and a first-generation immigrant from Nigeria, I have a personal connection to the realities of Sickle Cell disease and the inequalities that often surround its treatment and perception. Through my own lived experience, as well as witnessing the experiences of family members and friends living with the condition, I have become increasingly aware of how assumptions, stereotypes, and categorical thinking can shape interactions within healthcare settings and wider society. These experiences will allow me to keep the analysis both critically informed and grounded in its’s complexities, a factor that can be easy to overlook in the course of scholarly research.
Output:
The findings will culminate into an accessible research poster and systematic review, helping to improve current awareness of how social categorisation and cultural ignorance can affect healthcare delivery and the everyday lives of individuals with SCD.