Thread by @apoorva_nyc

NEW: Medical journals like JAMA and the NEJM are blind to structural racism and the ways in which discrimination became embedded in medicine over generations, some scientists say.
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nytimes.com/2021/06/02/hea…

The journals favor studies linking race or racial inequities to socioeconomic or biological factors rather than to systemic racism, the critics said. A review by the NYT showed that five top medical journals publish more papers with the term "race" than with "racism."

The top editor at JAMA excised the word "racism" and watered down the conclusions of papers about high death rates among pregnant Black women and on the long-reaching impact of historical redlining on preterm birth, according to two high-profile researchers.

This is the fallout from a controversy that began with a podcast in Feb., when a JAMA editor suggested “taking racism out of the conversation.” A tweet promoting the podcast said no physician is racist but was later deleted.

The podcast is also not available now, but here's a snippet: It "isn't so much racism, as much as that there are populations that it's more of a socio economic phenomenon... and it isn't their race, it isn't their color, it's their socioeconomic status."

The uproar prompted the editor, Dr. Edward Livingston, to resign. In March, @AmerMedicalAssn which oversees @JAMA_current placed the journal's top editor, Dr. Howard Bauchner, on leave and launched an investigation.

nytimes.com/2021/03/25/hea…

Yesterday, the AMA unexpectedly announced that Dr. Bauchner would step down as of June 30, but did not say any more than that about the investigation.

nytimes.com/2021/06/01/hea…

It's unclear what JAMA and AMA plan to do next, but in any case, "it's not just JAMA -- it's all of them," said @DrMaryTBassett Journals "have a huge responsibility, because of the power they wield with respect to influencing science,” said @DrMelissaSimon

Beyond journals, “there are gatekeepers along every single step along the path to produce science,” from acceptance into Ph.D. programs and funding for projects, to publication of results and invitation to speak at conferences, Dr. Simon said.

Also feat. @NEJM editor Eric Rubin, @rcg1812 @DrBrittaniJ and @AmmahStarr

nytimes.com/2021/06/02/hea…