CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism were catalyzed by the murder of George Floyd and other Black and racialized people in spring 2020. Addressing anti-Black racism had been historically minimized as an institutional priority across Canadian medical schools, but many swiftly released statements broadly condemning racism. Given that little has been documented about how institutions are responding with action, we sought to explore Black medical students' and senior faculty perspectives on Canadian medical schools' efforts to address anti-Black racism in 2020. ⋯ We found that medical schools relied heavily on Black medical students to inform and drive their institutional responses related to anti-Black racism in 2020, which these students found burdensome. Medical schools lacked intrinsic capacity because of the paucity of Black faculty - a direct result of historical and ongoing structural anti-Black racism in medicine. Institutional accountability remains critical, and further research is needed to show the extent to which medical schools in Canada are successfully addressing anti-Black racism.
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Black people are a growing population in Canada, but limited data are available on the factors that contribute to the mental health of Black youth in Canada. We sought to explore the factors that contribute to the mental health of Black youth in Alberta, Canada. ⋯ Black youth in Alberta reported that anti-Black racism and intergenerational tensions are major factors that contribute to their mental health, which suggests a need to address anti-Black racism and ensure more equitable approaches for Black youth in Alberta.