Black adults report facing discrimination in health care settings

August 13, 2021

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Black adults reported experiencing discrimination or unfair judgment in health care settings at triple the rate of white adults and double the rate of Hispanic or “Latinx” adults, according to recent survey data.

The survey was administered by the Urban Institute with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in December 2020. The sample included more than 7,500 adults aged 18 to 64 years.

Source: The Urban Institute

Among the respondents, 10.4% of Black women and 4.2% of Black men reported unfair treatment or judgment due to their race or ethnicity at a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital compared with 5.8% of Hispanic or “Latinx” women, 4.6% of Hispanic or “Latinx” men, 1.3% of white women and 1.1% of white men.

In a follow-up survey published by the same groups, 22 of 39 Black individuals who participated in a phone interview reported personally experiencing discrimination or unfair judgment when seeking health care at some point in their lives.

Dulce Gonzalez

Dulce Gonzalez, MPP, a research associate in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, and colleagues interviewed the respondents between December 2020 and February 2021. Among the interview sample, 24 respondents were women, two-thirds had incomes below the poverty line, about 50% were from the South and 25% were from the Midwest.

Of the 39 individuals, 12 reported experiencing discrimination and unfair judgment in the previous year, 18 reported not experiencing discrimination or unfair judgment and nine reported no discrimination but felt the health care system treated them with disrespect. Most of the respondents reported that the health care system does not treat all patients equally.

Seventeen respondents said they did not directly experience discrimination, but about half of them knew a family member or friend who had such experiences. Women reported experiencing discrimination or judgment more often than men, according to the data.

Several factors that respondents cited as contributing to unequal treatment included race and ethnicity, income, insurance status and gender. About one-third of respondents preferred providers who shared their race, mostly due to cultural competency, according to Gonzalez and colleagues. In addition, individuals who experienced perceived discrimination or unfair judgment were more hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines.

Although about two-thirds of the individuals had a chronic health condition, many reported delaying care, looking for a new health care provider or not getting care, according to Gonzalez.

“All of these have impacts on people’s ability to meet their health needs, including to control or manage chronic conditions,” Gonzalez told Healio Primary Care. “This could really exacerbate health inequities for Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults.”

References:

Urban Institute. Black and African American adults’ perspectives on discrimination and unfair judgement in health care. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/black-and-african-american-adults-perspectives-discrimination-and-unfair-judgment-health-care/view/related_publications. Accessed August 10, 2021.

Urban Institute. Perceptions of unfair treatment or judgement due to race or ethnicity in five settings. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/perceptions-unfair-treatment-or-judgment-due-race-or-ethnicity-five-settings. Accessed August 10, 2021.