Greer Tawanda M
Dept. of Psychology, Barnwell College, Univ. of South Carolina, 525A, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2010 Feb;21(1):251-63. doi: 10.1353/hpu.0.0265.
To examine African American patient perceptions of racial discrimination in clinical encounters. General barriers to hypertension management were also investigated.
Six focus groups with 37 African American hypertensive patients were conducted and the transcribed sessions were analyzed for content.
Patients valued providers who shared information regarding self-care behaviors to manage hypertension and those who provided information regarding treatment options. Provider assumptions about patient inability to afford services, and provider apathy in reaching diagnoses were perceived as racially discriminatory. Patients discussed providers' avoidance of touch during physical exams as overtly discriminatory. Patients reacted to discriminatory experiences by not keeping appointments with providers perceived as racially discriminatory. Barriers to hypertension management were associated with family responsibilities and lifestyle factors, but were not attributed to provider racial biases.
Perceiving racial discrimination in clinical encounters may be an important barrier to appointment attendance for African American hypertensive patients.
探讨非裔美国患者对临床诊疗中种族歧视的认知。同时调查高血压管理的一般障碍。
对37名非裔美国高血压患者进行了6次焦点小组访谈，并对转录的访谈内容进行了分析。
患者重视那些分享自我护理行为以管理高血压信息的医护人员，以及那些提供治疗方案信息的医护人员。医护人员认为患者无力支付服务费用的假设，以及在诊断过程中的冷漠态度被视为种族歧视。患者讨论了医护人员在体格检查时避免接触的行为是明显的歧视。患者对歧视性经历的反应是不再预约他们认为存在种族歧视的医护人员。高血压管理的障碍与家庭责任和生活方式因素有关，但并非归因于医护人员的种族偏见。
在临床诊疗中察觉到种族歧视可能是非裔美国高血压患者就诊的一个重要障碍。
