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Honolulu
(AP) – Asian and African-American patients have a higher risk of dying than Caucasians after being admitted to hospitals
for major injuries according to a study.
“There is a substantial
and growing evidence of pervasive racial disparities in access to appropriate medical care in a variety of contexts and for
a wide variety of medical conditions,” researchers said.
The study was co-authored
by Dr. Jerris Hedges, new dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University
of Hawaii. It found 2.1 percent of blacks and two percent of Asians (including
Pacific Islanders) died in the hospital following a significant injury. Whites had a lower death rate of 1.5 percent.
Other ethnic groups were
about the same as Caucasian patients. “The poorer survival outcome for Asian and Pacific Island and African-American patients
is concerning,” said Hedges, who became dean this month after serving as vice dean of the Oregon Health & Science
University School of Medicine.
The “Racial Disparities
in Mortality Among Adults Hospitalized After Injury” report was published in last month’s issue of Medical Care,
and used data from Hawaii and 21 other states from 1998
to 2002.
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The study examined 489,025
hospitalizations and focused on patients age 18 to 64 with injuries mostly to the head, legs, chest, spleen, or liver.
Researchers found evidence
that physicians might “unconsciously incorporate negative racial stereotypes into heir assessment of patients, and this
likely affects treatment decisions.”
The report said whites were
more likely to be privately insured. Asian patients were least likely “to live in a zip code with median income of less
than $25,000.”
Among the Asians, language
barriers may have interfered with appropriate treatment for many, resulting in disparities.
Racial disparities among
black patients were largest among mildly to moderately injured patients where there was likely to be more discretion in making
decisions, said the study.
The above article was published
in The Asian Reporter, March 18, 2008 Newsletter. |
