Perceived Racial Discrimination in Health Care: a Comparison of Veterans Affairs and Other Patients

Overview

Journal Am J Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2009 May 16

PMID 19443818

Citations 14

Authors

Leslie R M Hausmann

Kwonho Jeong

James E Bost

Nancy R Kressin

Said A Ibrahim

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: We compared rates of perceived racial discrimination in health care settings for veteran and nonveteran patients and for veterans who used the Veterans Affairs health care system and those who did not.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We used logistic regression to examine whether perceived racial discrimination in health care was associated with veteran status or use of Veterans Affairs health care, after adjusting for patient characteristics.

Results: In this sample of 35,902 people, rates of perceived discrimination were equal for veterans and nonveterans (3.4% and 3.5%, respectively; crude odds ratio [OR] = 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.77, 1.28; adjusted OR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.66, 1.28). Among veterans (n = 3420), perceived discrimination was more prevalent among patients who used Veterans Affairs facilities than among those who did not (5.4% vs 2.7%; OR = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.04, 4.18). However, this difference was not significant after adjustment for patient characteristics (OR = 1.30; 95% CI = 0.54, 3.13).

Conclusions: Perceived racial discrimination in health care was equally prevalent among veterans and nonveterans and among veterans who used the Veterans Affairs health care system and those who did not.

Citing Articles

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Changes in the associations of race and rurality with SARS-CoV-2 infection, mortality, and case fatality in the United States from February 2020 to March 2021: A population-based cohort study.

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Racial disparities in health care utilization, the affordable care act and racial concordance preference.

Ma A, Sanchez A, Ma M Int J Health Econ Manag. 2021; 22(1):91-110.

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Cumulative Disadvantage and Disparities in Depression and Pain Among Veterans With Osteoarthritis: The Role of Perceived Discrimination.

McClendon J, Essien U, Youk A, Ibrahim S, Vina E, Kwoh C Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020; 73(1):11-17.

PMID: 33026710 PMC: 7775296. DOI: 10.1002/acr.24481.

Identifying healthcare experiences associated with perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination among veterans with pain: A cross-sectional mixed methods survey.

Hausmann L, Jones A, McInnes S, Zickmund S PLoS One. 2020; 15(9):e0237650.

PMID: 32881940 PMC: 7470400. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237650.

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