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  • Patient Feedback Suggests Clinicians’ Respect Varies by Patient’s Race and Ethnicity

    By Jean Shaw
    Selected and Reviewed by Neil M. Bressler, MD, and Deputy Editors
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    Journal Highlights

    JAMA Ophthalmology, February 2022

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    Hicks et al. evaluated whether patients from racial and ethnic minority groups believe that they are treated fairly by their health care providers. They found that these patients feel that clinicians treat them with less respect than do non-Hispanic White patients.

    For this cross-sectional analysis, the researchers assessed those who participated in the CDC’s 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which included information on eye disease. Partici­pants were adults (≥18 years) and had age-related macular degeneration, cata­ract, diabetic retinopathy, or glaucoma, with most patients (89%) reporting having cataracts. For the purposes of this analysis, those who self-reported any race or ethnicity other than as a White individual were considered to be in a racial/ethnic minority group.

    The total study population included 5,343 individuals; of these 3,296 (61.69%) were female. All told, 349 participants identified as being Hispanic patients, and 824 described themselves as Asian, Black, or “multiple/other” patients. Outcomes of interest were patients’ re­sponses to the following: 1) “How often did your health care providers ask for your opinions/beliefs about your med­ical care or treatment?” and 2) “How often were you treated with respect by your health care providers?” Response options ranged from “none of the time” to “always,” and “always” served as the benchmark for the analysis.

    Results of multivariable logistic regression models showed that 79.21% of non-Hispanic White patients report­ed that they were always treated with respect, versus 74.68% of those in racial and ethnic minority groups. Of those who said that they were not routinely asked their opinions and beliefs regard­ing their care, 64.3% of those who were part of a racial or ethnic minority said that they were, nonetheless, treated with respect, versus 73.4% of non-His­panic White patients. (Also see related commentary by Kristen Nwanyanuwu, MBA, MHS, in the same issue.)

    The original article can be found here.