JSNMA SUMMER 2019 Sneak Preview

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2016 U.S. News & World Report
A article penned by Michael Schroeder
communicates the story of Ron Wyatt,
an African American who experienced
substandard care at a facility in which he
was a patient. At the time, the facility did
not realize that this patient was a physician
himself, and could thereby recognize that
he was receiving substandard care due
to the color of his skin. Dr. Wyatt later
co-authored his opinion piece in the Journal
of the American Medical Association
detailing the many discrepancies in care
between Caucasian and minority patients.
For instance, Dr. Wyatt notes that “if you
are African American or Latino…you’re
less likely to be given analgesics at the
recommended level.” 1-2 This is due to the
misperception that African Americans
have an increased pain threshold,
despite evidence demonstrating a higher
sensitivity to pain compared to Caucasians
and more unpleasant sensations when
exposed to a painful stimulus. 3
Similar health discrepancies for minority
patients compared to non-Hispanic Whites
have been well-documented by various
studies. In comparison to Caucasian
women, Hispanic and African American
women are more likely to be diagnosed
with a later stage of breast cancer and are
“consistently at higher risk of not receiving
guideline-concordant treatment.” 4 A study
of gender, race, and cardiac care noted that
even when African American and Caucasian
patients began at a similar baseline in terms
of their well-being, the post-procedural
increase in quality of life was significantly
larger for Caucasians. 5 Furthermore, the
physical functionality of the African American
patients decreased during the year following
intervention, while that of Caucasians
increased. 5 A cross-sectional study on
patients with inflammatory bowel disease
showed a marked decrease in self-reported
adherence amongst African Americans
when compared to their Caucasian
counterparts; simultaneously, their level of
“trust-in-physician” was predictive of their
poor adherence to medical management. 6
Such disparities attest to the complex
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