Compared to previous studies, our research does not completely reflect the information we discovered through our survey. We found there was a disconnect between awareness and known statistics of inequality. However, we found some things that correlated with previous studies.
Gender
One thing we found to correlate was the gender bias and gender inequality that was occurring in the medical field. This information was found through patients and healthcare employees. Valerie Bevan, and multiple other researchers, did a study on healthcare scientists and the accounts of men in healthcare science laboratories. These researchers wanted to find out and extend their knowledge on women's under-representation in senior positions in healthcare science (Bevan 1). These researchers found that men received more favorable treatment from male managers than women did (Bevan 143). They found that men support men. This correlates with our research because we found that women experienced a plethora of gender inequality from men specifically. For example, a respondent from our survey mentions wrote, "I've been treated differently because I am a female in an ER world because, "women can't do that." The same respondent continues to say that she is "called difficult for something as simple as standing her ground." Gender was one of the major and most prevalent factors of inequality we saw throughout our survey.
Race
Throughout our research, we found that racial inequality was witnessed more than it was experienced. The percentage of those that witnessed inequality was much less than expected, despite most studies showing a large disparity in regards to racial inequality in healthcare. In a study done by Channing J. Paller, a team of researchers found that racial inequality was extremely prevalent in prostate cancer outcomes. In the article, the researchers found that black or African American race have been associated with worse outcomes for a number of diseases (Paller 1). Throughout the research, the researchers analyze the question of what is the association between race and disease prognosis (Paller 1). In our own research and studies, we found that race was not extremely experienced. One explanation for this was discussed in a study on Awareness of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities where the survey revealed low levels of awareness among racial and ethnic minority groups about disparities that disproportionately affect their own communities (Benz 1860). The lack of awareness of racial inequality could be due to the fact that the majority of our participants were White or Caucasian which. A larger, more equal variety of different races would possible yield statistics closer to our researched data.
LGBTQ+
In addition to the previously discussed building blocks of inequality, we found great information regarding the inequality experienced or witnessed by the LGBTQ+ community. A study on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Physicians' Experiences in the Workplace found that medical schools and healthcare workplaces continue to ignore LGBT issues and operate in a discriminatory fashion far too often (Eliason 1355). We found that our previous research and findings correlated with each other extremely well. For example, in our survey we found that an anonymous source stated, "My wife and I have a daughter through IVF. My coworker repeatedly asks me if my daughter looks like the father. There is no father, my daughter has two moms. When filling out the birth certificate, my wife was told to list herself as the father." In addition to this, the anonymous source continues with, "She was also told she'd have to petition for paternity at the courthouse in order to be considered a real legal parent." As disheartening as this is, we found this information to extremely helpful to our research. We also found that Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Lesbians experienced and witnessed maltreatment regarding sexual orientation. The only part of our data that does not reflect the information we found from studies, is the 70% of participants claimed they had never experienced or witnessed maltreatment regarding sexual orientation in a healthcare setting. Proportionately, those in the LGBTQ+ community witnessed mistreatment regarding sexual orientation more than their heterosexual counterparts as can be seen by comparing Figure 5 and Figure 12. In addition to this information, we found a research study based on the Transgender community. In Tarynn Witten's study they address how the normative viewpoint of mental illness and unacceptable religious status, along with lifelong perceived and actual abuse and violence (Witten 1). Through Witten's research, the researchers found that the normative viewpoints create a socially sanctioned inequality in healthcare for this population (Witten 1).
Income
Our data on income disparities was the most consistent with our research. Research shows that poverty and low income affect multiple areas of Health Care such as access to care, treatment received, and ability to manage health conditions. Our survey showed a correlation with income and health insurance. We also found that those with lower income saw a doctor less. A study titled The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2001 to 2014, showed life expectancy increased with higher income by an average of 10 years for women and 15 years for men (Chetty et al. 12).