Disparities in Health Care for Black Patients in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the United States: A Narrative Review
Odonkor, C., et al.; PM&R
Racial health disparities continue to disproportionately affect Black persons in the US. Black individuals also have increased risk of worse outcomes associated with social determinants of health including socioeconomic factors such as income, education and employment. This narrative review included studies originally spanning a period of approximately one decade (Dec 2009-Dec 2019) from online databases and with subsequent updates though Jun 2020. The findings to date suggest pervasive inequities across common conditions and injuries in physical medicine and rehabilitation for this group compared to other racial/ethnic groups. The authors of the review found health disparities across several domains for Black persons with stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, hip/knee osteoarthritis and fractures, as well as cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Although more research is needed, some contributing factors include low access to rehabilitation care, fewer referrals, lower utilization rates, perceived bias, and more self-reliance, even after adjusting for hospital characteristics, age, disease severity, and relevant socioeconomic variables.
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