Decolonizing Medical Education, Research and Practice
- 1st Edition - August 1, 2026
- Latest edition
- Editor: Faadiel Essop
- Language: English
Decolonizing Medical Education, Research and Practice delves deeply into the complexities of transforming medicine by examining curricula, research, and clinical care. The book h… Read more
Decolonizing Medical Education, Research and Practice delves deeply into the complexities of transforming medicine by examining curricula, research, and clinical care. The book highlights how colonial legacies have shaped medical perspectives, resulting in persistent inequities and barriers to fair healthcare access. By critically analyzing the ways in which colonialism fostered false narratives about race and embedded systemic racism, the text underscores the urgent need to dismantle these longstanding biases. The first section offers a thorough critique of how Eurocentric traditions continue to influence medical education and practice, perpetuating discriminatory treatment and unequal outcomes.
The second part of the book shifts focus to solutions, featuring case studies and practical strategies for creating a more inclusive, culturally sensitive healthcare system. Written by leading global experts, it is a vital resource for medical students, postgraduates, clinicians, educators, researchers, and policymakers interested in meaningful change. The authors aim to inspire a new era in medicine that acknowledges past harms and works toward equitable healthcare for communities worldwide.
The second part of the book shifts focus to solutions, featuring case studies and practical strategies for creating a more inclusive, culturally sensitive healthcare system. Written by leading global experts, it is a vital resource for medical students, postgraduates, clinicians, educators, researchers, and policymakers interested in meaningful change. The authors aim to inspire a new era in medicine that acknowledges past harms and works toward equitable healthcare for communities worldwide.
- Presents practical and theoretical ways to decolonize medical and allied health sciences curricula, research, and clinical practice
- Informs medical and biomedical researchers of the false premise of using racial groups in clinical studies
- Shares unique insights on how colonialism and persistent scientific racism have influenced clinical practices
Academics at medical schools/colleges, under- and postgraduate students pursuing medical, allied health and biomedical sciences, postdoctoral fellows, doctors/clinicians, health care professionals and workers, leaders in universities, leaders in research and healthcare, policy makers
Part I: Challenges
1. From Slave Ships to Contemporary Clinics: The US Neo-Slavery Medical Complex
Joe R Feagin (Texas A&M University)
2. Intersections between Colonialism, Medical Racism and Race-based Medical Practice
Faadiel Essop (Stellenbosch University) and Saleha Suleman (University of Cape Town)
3. Race, Racism and the US Production and Exportation of Medical Science
Jaya Aysola and Michelle Munyikwa (University of Pennsylvania)
4. Colonial Laboratories as Imperial Sites of Knowledge Production - the Case of the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Nigeria
Adedamola Adetiba (University of Manchester)
5. When Evidence Misrepresents: Epistemic Failures of Evidence-Based Medicine and the BiDil Controversy
Wandile Ganya and Wanele Ganya (Stellenbosch University)
Part II: Solutions
6. Knowing the Dead: Pedagogies of Forensic Humanitarian Action in Postcolonial Contexts
Keegan Meiring, Mandi Alblas and Kathryn Smith (Stellenbosch University)
7. Case Study: Decolonizing the Postgraduate Biomedical Sciences Curriculum
Faadiel Essop and Rhoda Meyer (Stellenbosch University)
8. Decolonizing the Medical Curriculum: A History, A Process, and The Fleshy Remainder
Rachel Niehuus (University of North Carolina School of Medicine)
9. Towards Sustainable Change–Embedding Decolonial Implementation Science in Medical Training to Reimagine Our World
Patricia Maritim (University of Zambia School of Public Health), Ramya Kumar (University of Washington School of Public Health) and Muneera Rasheed (University of Bergen)
10. Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into the Health Sciences Curriculum: A Path towards Decolonial Healing and Holistic Care
Mabitja Moeta (University of Johannesburg)
11. Not Asking for a Seat, but Building a New Table: Case for a Global South–centered Model in Medicine
Muneera Rasheed (University of Bergen)
12. Towards Inclusive Medical Education, Research and Practice: Removing Race from Genetics
Pedro W. Fernandez, Phila M. Msimang, Caitlin Uren and Desiree C. Petersen (Stellenbosch University)
13. Shaping an Inclusive Health Care Ethics Framework in the 21st Century: Lessons from African Bioethics and Relational Approaches
Berna Gerber, Juan Bornman and Alida Naude (Stellenbosch University)
14. Reclaiming Wholeness: Ayurveda, Colonization, and the Healing of Medicine
Sheila Patel (University of California San Diego)
15. Harnessing the Health-Promoting Potential of Indigenous Foods: Enhancing Public Health and Advancing Environmental Sustainability
Xikombiso Mbhenyane (Stellenbosch University), Nomakhushe Nxusani (Stellenbosch University), Vanessa Mbhatsani (Stellenbosch University), Sefora Makuse (University of Venda), Mthokozisi Zuma (Stellenbosch University)
Part III
Conclusions and future reflections
Faadiel Essop (Stellenbosch University)
1. From Slave Ships to Contemporary Clinics: The US Neo-Slavery Medical Complex
Joe R Feagin (Texas A&M University)
2. Intersections between Colonialism, Medical Racism and Race-based Medical Practice
Faadiel Essop (Stellenbosch University) and Saleha Suleman (University of Cape Town)
3. Race, Racism and the US Production and Exportation of Medical Science
Jaya Aysola and Michelle Munyikwa (University of Pennsylvania)
4. Colonial Laboratories as Imperial Sites of Knowledge Production - the Case of the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Nigeria
Adedamola Adetiba (University of Manchester)
5. When Evidence Misrepresents: Epistemic Failures of Evidence-Based Medicine and the BiDil Controversy
Wandile Ganya and Wanele Ganya (Stellenbosch University)
Part II: Solutions
6. Knowing the Dead: Pedagogies of Forensic Humanitarian Action in Postcolonial Contexts
Keegan Meiring, Mandi Alblas and Kathryn Smith (Stellenbosch University)
7. Case Study: Decolonizing the Postgraduate Biomedical Sciences Curriculum
Faadiel Essop and Rhoda Meyer (Stellenbosch University)
8. Decolonizing the Medical Curriculum: A History, A Process, and The Fleshy Remainder
Rachel Niehuus (University of North Carolina School of Medicine)
9. Towards Sustainable Change–Embedding Decolonial Implementation Science in Medical Training to Reimagine Our World
Patricia Maritim (University of Zambia School of Public Health), Ramya Kumar (University of Washington School of Public Health) and Muneera Rasheed (University of Bergen)
10. Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into the Health Sciences Curriculum: A Path towards Decolonial Healing and Holistic Care
Mabitja Moeta (University of Johannesburg)
11. Not Asking for a Seat, but Building a New Table: Case for a Global South–centered Model in Medicine
Muneera Rasheed (University of Bergen)
12. Towards Inclusive Medical Education, Research and Practice: Removing Race from Genetics
Pedro W. Fernandez, Phila M. Msimang, Caitlin Uren and Desiree C. Petersen (Stellenbosch University)
13. Shaping an Inclusive Health Care Ethics Framework in the 21st Century: Lessons from African Bioethics and Relational Approaches
Berna Gerber, Juan Bornman and Alida Naude (Stellenbosch University)
14. Reclaiming Wholeness: Ayurveda, Colonization, and the Healing of Medicine
Sheila Patel (University of California San Diego)
15. Harnessing the Health-Promoting Potential of Indigenous Foods: Enhancing Public Health and Advancing Environmental Sustainability
Xikombiso Mbhenyane (Stellenbosch University), Nomakhushe Nxusani (Stellenbosch University), Vanessa Mbhatsani (Stellenbosch University), Sefora Makuse (University of Venda), Mthokozisi Zuma (Stellenbosch University)
Part III
Conclusions and future reflections
Faadiel Essop (Stellenbosch University)
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: August 1, 2026
- Language: English
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Faadiel Essop
Dr. Faadiel Essop is currently a professor in the Division of Medical Physiology at Stellenbosch University, as well as Director and Co-Founder of the Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research Centre. Dr. Essop is the current President of the African Association of Physiological Sciences, a board member of the General Assembly of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, and chairperson of the South African National Committee of the IUPS. He’s also served as a member of the International Committee of the American Physiological Society and is an elected Fellow of the American Physiological Society. During 2021 he was awarded the PSSA’s prestigious Lifetime Career Achievement Award. Dr. Essop is currently the recipient of a Teaching Advancement at University fellowship where the focus is to develop a philosophical framework for the introduction of broader humanities and arts concepts into the biomedical, science and engineering curricula in order to ensure more holistic graduates.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Chair, Division of Cell and Medical Physiology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa