Defining Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pain Management
2011/01/19 by Jana M. Mossey, Jana Mossey · 26 citations
Medicine · #Pain Management and Opioid Use #Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation #Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
paper · doi:10.1007/s11999-011-1770-9
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Substantial pain prevalence is as high as 40% in community populations. There is consistent evidence that racial/ethnic minority individuals are overrepresented among those who experience such pain and whose pain management is inadequate. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The objectives of this paper are to (1) define parameters of and summarize evidence pertinent to racial/ethnic minority disparities in pain management, (2) identify factors contributing to observed disparities, and (3) identify strategies to minimize the disparities. METHODS: Scientific literature was selectively reviewed addressing pain epidemiology, differences in pain management of non-Hispanic whites versus racial/ethnic minority groups, and patient and physician factors contributing to such differences. RESULTS: Racial/ethnic minorities consistently receive less adequate treatment for acute and chronic pain than non-Hispanic whites, even after controlling for age, gender, and pain intensity. Pain intensity underreporting appears to be a major contribution of minority individuals to pain management disparities. The major contribution by physicians to such disparities appears to reflect limited awareness of their own cultural beliefs and stereotypes regarding pain, minority individuals, and use of narcotic analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: Racial/ethnic minority patients with pain need to be empowered to accurately report pain intensity levels, and physicians who treat such patients need to acknowledge their own belief systems regarding pain and develop strategies to overcome unconscious, but potentially harmful, negative stereotyping of minority patients.
Citations
Cited by
- Implicit bias in pain management: The intersection of stigma, race, and chronic disease in sickle cell disease
- Pain over time and its effects on life in thalassemia. [europepmc]
- A longitudinal linear model of patient characteristics to predict failure to attend an inner-city chronic pain clinic. [europepmc]
- Racial disparities across provider specialties in opioid prescriptions dispensed to medicaid beneficiaries with chronic noncancer pain. [europepmc]
- Opioid prescribing patterns for non-malignant chronic pain for rural versus non-rural US adults: a population-based study using 2010 NAMCS data. [europepmc]
- Incidence and outcomes of desmoplastic small round cell tumor: results from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results database. [europepmc]
- Does Race Affect Outcomes in Total Joint Arthroplasty? [europepmc]
- Chronic Opioid Usage in Surgical Patients in a Large Academic Center. [europepmc]
- Pain and pharmacologic pain management in long-stay nursing home residents. [europepmc]
- Opioid Prescribing for the Treatment of Acute Pain in Children on Hospital Discharge. [europepmc]
- Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes. [europepmc]
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Evaluation and Management of Pain in the Outpatient Setting, 2006-2015. [europepmc]
- Racial Bias in the US Opioid Epidemic: A Review of the History of Systemic Bias and Implications for Care. [europepmc]
- Update on the pharmacogenomics of pain management. [europepmc]
- Anticipated Pain During Intrauterine Device Insertion. [europepmc]
- Prevalence, burden, and clinical management of migraine in China, Japan, and South Korea: a comprehensive review of the literature. [europepmc]
- Perceived Injustice Helps Explain the Association Between Chronic Pain Stigma and Movement-Evoked Pain in Adults with Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain. [europepmc]
- Dying individuals and suffering populations: applying a population-level bioethics lens to palliative care in humanitarian contexts: before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. [europepmc]
- Racial/Ethnic Differences in Staff-Assessed Pain Behaviors Among Newly Admitted Nursing Home Residents. [europepmc]
- Pivoting to virtual delivery for managing chronic pain with nonpharmacological treatments: implications for pragmatic research. [europepmc]
- Chronic Noncancer Pain Management and Systemic Racism: Time to Move Toward Equal Care Standards. [europepmc]
- Cross-sectional study of psychosocial and pain-related variables among patients with chronic pain during a time of social distancing imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. [europepmc]
- Factors Associated With, and Mitigation Strategies for, Health Care Disparities Faced by Patients With Headache Disorders. [europepmc]
- Confronting Racism in Pain Research: A Call to Action. [europepmc]
- Association of Patient Race and Ethnicity With Differences in Opioid Prescribing by Primary Care Physicians for Older Adults With New Low Back Pain. [europepmc]
- Educational strategies in the health professions to mitigate cognitive and implicit bias impact on decision making: a scoping review. [europepmc]
Related