The study offers a glimpse into the problem of racism in this country's health care system, Kposowa said from his office at UC Riverside. "If it is clear from something as simple as this, what is the larger picture?" he asked.
The study blames differences in treatment on stereotypes embedded in the culture of the United States and reflected, consciously or not, in the attitudes of health care providers. Two such stereotypes, it says, are beliefs that members of minority groups, "particularly African-American men," are responsible for most drug offenses, and that they more at risk than whites for substance-abuse problems. Health care providers who accept those stereotypes, the study contends, would be less likely to prescribe painkillers to African-Americans and Hispanics. The study argues that the health care system, in effect, is using racial profiling on its patients.
Kposowa speculated that another stereotype -- that Asian women are submissive and will obey doctors' orders -- is responsible for the study's finding that Asian women were more likely than white women to be prescribed pain medication. Kposowa and Tsunokai chose back-pain treatment for their study because "virtually everyone" suffers from back pain at some point, and it is an ailment for which medications are routinely prescribed. And since pain, unlike actual damage to the body, can't be measured by diagnostic tools such as X-rays, MRI tests and CT scans, doctors must decide what -- and whether -- to prescribe by listening to their patients.
If their evaluations are being affected by racial stereotypes, Kposowa said, "a lot of people go about their daily lives in (unnecessary) pain."
Kposowa, an immigrant from Sierra Leone, said he was surprised by the differences among the races in back
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Contact: Kris Lovekin
kris.lovekin@ucr.edu
909-787-2495
University of California - Riverside
24-May-2004