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The following is a summary of “Healthcare Discrimination Affects Patient Activation, Communication Self-efficacy, and Pain for Black Americans,” published in the August 2024 issue of Pain by Derricks et al.

The study demonstrated the link between perceived racial discrimination in healthcare and health outcomes for Black Americans with chronic pain.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to explore the linkage between physician-patient working alliance and racial discrimination to worse patient activation, communication self-efficacy, and physical health outcomes.

They examined data from a clinical trial of 250 U.S. Black veterans with chronic pain. Participants were recruited from primary clinics at a Midwestern VA hospital between 2018 and 2021 to analyze the associations between racial discrimination and health outcomes. 

The results showed racial discrimination in healthcare was linked with lower patient activation, lower self-efficacy in communicating with physicians, higher pain intensity, and lower pain management self-efficacy (ps < .049). However, it was unrelated to reports of pain interference or use of pain coping strategies (ps > .157). Although the working alliance moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and patient activation (P= .014), a more robust working alliance improved patient activation across levels of perceived discrimination rather than buffering against adverse outcomes associated with higher levels of discrimination. Moderation was not significant for any other measures.

They concluded a range of health outcomes associated with perceiving racial discrimination in healthcare.

Source: jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(24)00619-9/abstract