Why is Pain a Black and White Issue?
- cirelandmd
- Nov 26, 2016
- 2 min read
"Minorities tend to receive less treatment for pain than whites, and suffer more disability as a result."
"While an epidemic of prescription opioid abuse has swept across the United States, African Americans and Hispanics have been affected at much lower rates than whites. Researchers say minority patients use fewer opioids, and they offer a thicket of possible explanations, including a lack of insurance coverage and a greater reluctance among minorities to take opioid painkillers even if they are prescribed. But the researchers have also found evidence of racial bias and stereotyping in recognizing and treating pain among minorities, particularly black patients.
'We’ve done a good job documenting that these disparities exist,' said Salimah Meghani, a pain researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. 'We have not done a good job doing something about them.'” - Abby Goodnough in The New York Times
In August, The New York Times published an article about disparities in pain management options for people of color. One of the goals of Integrated Relief is to bridge the gap of that disparity by advocating for equal access to pain management. Another goal is to educate the entire populating that such a disparity exists so that all options are equally made known to patients and physicians alike.
Do you see this as a problem in practice, or is it something that shows up in research, but is not manifest in real life? What barriers, if any, do you find for people of color seeking pain management? Contact us to tell your story! We want to fix the system by sharing ideas and suggesting new frameworks for healthcare. Join us!