To what extent are parents and children exposed to bias and unfair treatment in health care?: national findings from 2022
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Gonzalez, Dulce, author Karpman, Michael, author Kenney, Genevieve M., author McDaniel, Marla, author
- Contributor(s):
- Health Policy Center (Urban Institute), issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, July 2023
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Child Ethnic and Racial Minorities Health Inequities Parents United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Adults’ experiences of discrimination or unfair treatment based on race, ethnicity, and other personal characteristics are well documented. These experiences can adversely affect adults’ health care access, health care quality, satisfaction with care, trust in the health care system, and treatment adherence. Less is known about the extent and impact of unfair treatment in health care on children and their parents, including during early childhood. Direct exposure to racism during childhood and indirect exposure mediated through a parent’s or caregiver’s experiences are associated with a range of adverse health effects, such as poor birth outcomes and worse child mental, socioemotional, and general health. Prior research found that when older children are unfairly stopped by the police, their mothers’ self-rated health deteriorates, suggesting that parental health and well-being may be adversely affected when they observe their children being treated unfairly. Unfair treatment in clinical settings may therefore affect the health and well-being of both parents and children by causing “psychological and physiological stress responses”, leading to disruptions in care and reductions in the quality of care, and fostering mistrust of health care providers during critical periods of childhood development. This study assesses unfair treatment in health care settings among parents and their children under age 19 using national data from the June 2022 round of the Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey (see data and methods for information). We examine unfair treatment in health care settings related to race, ethnicity, country of origin, and primary language for parents and children. For parents, we also assess unfair treatment related to additional characteristics (insurance coverage type, weight, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, income, and disability or health condition), consequences of unfair treatment, and concerns that they or family members will be treated unfairly in health care settings in the future.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (16 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918697486506676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918697486506676