By Tat Bellamy-Walker -
NBC News
Nearly a quarter of Latino and black older adults report that they face racial discrimination in medical visits, making it difficult for them to get the care they need, according to a Commonwealth Fund study released Thursday.
This report shows that patients of color age 60 and older are more likely to say they were treated unfairly or that their health problems were dismissed by medical professionals.
Twenty-three percent of Latino respondents and 25% of black respondents said they experienced such bias, a rate about eight times higher than white older adults.
This man fights discrimination with 'Spanglish' and becomes a celebrity on TikTok
March 17, 202203:56
[How does skin color affect Latinos in their daily lives?]
The study reinforces what Black and Latino patients have said for years, "that the health care system doesn't work for people of color, particularly older adults," study author Michelle M. Doty told NBC News in an email.
The report also indicated that this will exacerbate existing disparities.
According to the study, patients who reported racial discrimination also experienced more social isolation, financial strain and feelings of dissatisfaction with the care they received, the researchers said.
Experts say the stakes are higher among older populations because they use these services more often.
“My color, my sentence”: An investigation exposes police abuses against minorities
March 2, 202105:12
["No, that's not right": New generations confront their immigrant parents about racism]
"As older adults use far more health care services than younger people, and as the US population is rapidly aging, addressing discrimination in health care settings is very important for older adults of color" Doty said.
Older black women were some of the hardest hit, according to the study, with at least 49% saying they have been treated unfairly because of their race, compared to 34% of Latinas and 37% of white women. .
40% of LGBTQ youth considered suicide in 2020, study finds
June 30, 202104:19
[“Failed Immigrant”: This customer's racial slurs at a coffee shop cost him his job]
Of a set of 11 high-income countries, older adults in the US were the highest group, at 32%, to say that the health care system treats people differently because of their race or ethnicity , nearly double the rate for adults in Canada, which was 17%.
Amid these disparities, experts recommended policy changes such as public disclosure of discrimination data, as well as conducting educational trainings that address racism and implicit bias among health care providers.
"We have a problem. We can and we must do better," Doty said.