In a new poll conducted by a health policy research group, many patients of color—this includes 3 in 5 black patients—take steps at least some of the time when seeing a doctor. 55% of black patients who responded to the poll said that they feel like they must be extra careful about their appearance to be treated fairly in medical visits.
Health care discrimination (Photo: camlawllp)
New Poll Found That 55% Of Black Patients Feel The Need To Be Careful When Going To The Doctors
KFF, which is a health policy research group, released a new poll that shows patients of color take such steps at least some of the time when going to the doctor. Three in five black patients who responded to the poll agreed with this sentiment.
The KFF found out that 55% of black patients who responded to the poll said that they feel like they must be careful about their appearance when visiting medical facilities for them to be treated fairly. This 55% rate of black patients is similar to the rate for both Hispanic and Alaska native patients and nearly double the rate for white patients.
Almost 33% of black patients who responded to the poll said that they were prepared to be insulted. This is also double the rate for white patients.
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The Findings Of The Poll About The Racism Faced By Patients Of Color In Medical Care
According to the Director of KFF, Samantha Artiga, the survey offers a way to quantify what those experiences are with discrimination and racism and how they impact people’s lives. Director Artiga added that for those who have been following this type of issue, the findings of this survey are not unexpected.
Other Findings:
- Almost a quarter of black patients, 19% of Alaska Native patients, 11% of Asian patients, and 15% of Hispanic patients said they endured negative treatment due to their race and ethnicity.
- 22% of black patients who were pregnant in the past ten years said they were denied pain medication.
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