Perceived racial/ethnic bias in healthcare in Durham County, North Carolina: a comparison of community and national samples.
BACKGROUND
We sought to compare findings of a national survey of perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination in healthcare to those of a community survey, with emphasis on the perceptions of Latinos.


METHODS
Responses from a national survey were compared to a telephone survey of residents of Durham County, North Carolina.


RESULTS
Black respondents in the Durham sample were more likely than those in the national sample to feel that a healthcare provider had treated them with disrespect because of health insurance status (28% vs 14%; P < 0.001). Approximately one third of Durham Latinos and 14% of Latinos in the national sample felt they had been treated with disrespect because of their English-language ability (P < 0.01). Compared to a national sample of white participants, white respondents in Durham were more likely to believe that black persons are worse off in terms of receiving routine medical care (40% vs 27%; P < 0.01) and having health insurance (58% vs 43%; P < 0.01). As compared to their national counterparts, there was a similar trend for how white respondents in Durham perceived how Latinos fared (P < 0.001 for all comparisons).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall the perception of bias in healthcare was greater among Durham residents, especially among newly immigrated Latinos, than among their national counterparts.
Friedman
Joëlle Y
JY
Center for Clinical and Genetic Economics, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27715, USA.
Anstrom
Kevin J
KJ
Weinfurt
Kevin P
KP
McIntosh
Mary
M
Bosworth
Hayden B
HB
Oddone
Eugene Z
EZ
Bright
Cedric M
CM
Schulman
Kevin A
KA
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D011287:Prejudice; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012938:Social Perception