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Perceptions of discrimination and unfair judgment while seeking health care: findings from the September 11–28 Coronavirus Tracking Survey
Perceptions of discrimination and unfair judgment while seeking health care: findings from the September 11–28 Coronavirus Tracking Survey
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Gonzalez, Dulce, author
Skopec, Laura, author
McDaniel, Marla, author
Kenney, Genevieve M., author - Contributor(s):
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, issuing body.
Urban Institute, issuing body. - Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, April 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Persons with Disabilities -- psychology
Healthcare Disparities -- statistics & numerical data
Minority Groups -- psychology
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Racism -- statistics & numerical data
Sexual and Gender Minorities -- psychology
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Inequities in health insurance coverage and access to care are well established (Artiga, Orgera, and Pham 2020; CDC 2013; Institute of Medicine 2003; Riley 2012; Shartzer, Long, and Anderson 2015). The mechanisms behind these inequities are complex and include interpersonal experiences of unfair treatment while seeking care, institutional barriers within health systems, and structural barriers in non–health care domains that contribute to socioeconomic disadvantage (Bailey et al. 2017; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017).1 Research shows that people are often discriminated against or treated unfairly in health care settings because of disabilities, gender identity or sexual orientation, and race or ethnicity (Bleich et al. 2019; Mays et al. 2018; Nong et al. 2020; Skopec and Long 2016). These patterns are concerning given that health care disruptions and suboptimal quality that result from unfair treatment can lead people to delay or forgo care, to search for a new provider, and to experience adverse health consequences (Bird and Bogart 2001; Burgess et al. 2008; Mays et al. 2018; Skopec and Long 2016; Stark Casagrande et al. 2007; Trivedi and Ayanian 2006; Van Houtyen et al. 2005). Despite significant evidence of disparities in health care access and outcomes, there are significant knowledge gaps about the role of perceived discrimination and unfair treatment, specifically while seeking care, in contributing to these disparities at the national level (Shavers et al. 2012). Other research institutions have fielded surveys in recent years exploring perceptions of unfair treatment or discrimination in the health care system by race and ethnicity, but these questions are not typically included in federal surveys of health care use and access.2 In this brief, we draw from the most recent wave of the Urban Institute’s Coronavirus Tracking Survey, a nationally representative survey of nonelderly adults conducted between September 11 and September 28, 2020. That survey wave asked respondents whether in the last 12 months they had ever felt a doctor, other health care provider, or their staff judged them unfairly or discriminated against them based on their race/ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, a disability, or a health condition and about the consequences of these experiences.3 Our questions were broad, allowing respondents to select multiple reasons for these perceptions of discrimination or unfair judgment. We focused on perceptions of discrimination by health care providers and their staff, so we do not capture interactions with other actors in the health care system, such as pharmacists or health insurance companies. We explore responses to these questions, compare our results with those of other surveys, and define further areas for exploration (see the Data and Methods section for background information on our survey, analytic approach and limitations, and comparison with other surveys).
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (17 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918316886506676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918316886506676