Kashmier Anquillano

The US healthcare system is profoundly inaccessible. Driven by the economy, health care and its fee-for-service medical system greatly stratifies access to quality care and health by race, gender, sexuality, class, and socio-economic status. However, race and ethnicity come paramount in the discussion on disparity and access. Previous studies have examined the mechanisms that occur in racial disparities (Richardson and Norris 2010), and the value of social ties and social capital as buffering resources to negative health outcomes (Umberson and Montez 2010). Few studies have examined the role of online resources and social media, however, so I aim to evaluate how online engagement can serve as a mediating factor that redistributes access to resources and builds both social and cultural capital for racial minorities. I conducted 10 in-depth interviews with individuals aged 18-28, who have engaged with wellness through social media, and identify with a racial minority. My findings revealed the following themes: 1) Not Feeling Seen in Healthcare, 2) Leaning on Communities, and 3) Social Media as a Tool. Participants spoke to not only the inaccessibility of health care, but the disconnection to and distrust of healthcare providers. The prevalence and saturation of white medical professionals proved to be another barrier to effective care, for participants had a difficult time relaying their experiences or trusting the information they were receiving. This segues into the importance of community fostered through social media, then, for there was value in being able to connect with people who shared similar experiences and backgrounds. Social media not only gave people the opportunity to engage in a range of communities, but a platform for transparent information, testimony, and narrative.