scholarly journals Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Patient Experiences in the United States: 4-Year Content Analysis of Twitter (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulin Hswen ◽  
Jared B Hawkins ◽  
Kara Sewalk ◽  
Gaurav Tuli ◽  
David R Williams ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Racial and ethnic minority groups often face worse patient experiences compared with the general population, which is directly related to poorer health outcomes within these minority populations. Evaluation of patient experience among racial and ethnic minority groups has been difficult due to lack of representation in traditional health care surveys. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the feasibility of Twitter for identifying racial and ethnic disparities in patient experience across the United States from 2013 to 2016. METHODS In total, 851,973 patient experience tweets with geographic location information from the United States were collected from 2013 to 2016. Patient experience tweets included discussions related to care received in a hospital, urgent care, or any other health institution. Ordinary least squares multiple regression was used to model patient experience sentiment and racial and ethnic groups over the 2013 to 2016 period and in relation to the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014. RESULTS Racial and ethnic distribution of users on Twitter was highly correlated with population estimates from the United States Census Bureau’s 5-year survey from 2016 (<i>r</i><sup>2</sup>=0.99; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). From 2013 to 2016, the average patient experience sentiment was highest for White patients, followed by Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native patients. A reduction in negative patient experience sentiment on Twitter for all racial and ethnic groups was seen from 2013 to 2016. Twitter users who identified as Hispanic/Latino showed the greatest improvement in patient experience, with a 1.5 times greater increase (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) than Twitter users who identified as White. Twitter users who identified as Black had the highest increase in patient experience postimplementation of the ACA (2014-2016) compared with preimplementation of the ACA (2013), and this change was 2.2 times (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) greater than Twitter users who identified as White. CONCLUSIONS The ACA mandated the implementation of the measurement of patient experience of care delivery. Considering that quality assessment of care is required, Twitter may offer the ability to monitor patient experiences across diverse racial and ethnic groups and inform the evaluation of health policies like the ACA.

10.2196/17048 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e17048
Author(s):  
Yulin Hswen ◽  
Jared B Hawkins ◽  
Kara Sewalk ◽  
Gaurav Tuli ◽  
David R Williams ◽  
...  

Background Racial and ethnic minority groups often face worse patient experiences compared with the general population, which is directly related to poorer health outcomes within these minority populations. Evaluation of patient experience among racial and ethnic minority groups has been difficult due to lack of representation in traditional health care surveys. Objective This study aims to assess the feasibility of Twitter for identifying racial and ethnic disparities in patient experience across the United States from 2013 to 2016. Methods In total, 851,973 patient experience tweets with geographic location information from the United States were collected from 2013 to 2016. Patient experience tweets included discussions related to care received in a hospital, urgent care, or any other health institution. Ordinary least squares multiple regression was used to model patient experience sentiment and racial and ethnic groups over the 2013 to 2016 period and in relation to the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014. Results Racial and ethnic distribution of users on Twitter was highly correlated with population estimates from the United States Census Bureau’s 5-year survey from 2016 (r2=0.99; P<.001). From 2013 to 2016, the average patient experience sentiment was highest for White patients, followed by Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native patients. A reduction in negative patient experience sentiment on Twitter for all racial and ethnic groups was seen from 2013 to 2016. Twitter users who identified as Hispanic/Latino showed the greatest improvement in patient experience, with a 1.5 times greater increase (P<.001) than Twitter users who identified as White. Twitter users who identified as Black had the highest increase in patient experience postimplementation of the ACA (2014-2016) compared with preimplementation of the ACA (2013), and this change was 2.2 times (P<.001) greater than Twitter users who identified as White. Conclusions The ACA mandated the implementation of the measurement of patient experience of care delivery. Considering that quality assessment of care is required, Twitter may offer the ability to monitor patient experiences across diverse racial and ethnic groups and inform the evaluation of health policies like the ACA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 740
Author(s):  
Manjula D. Nugawela ◽  
Sarega Gurudas ◽  
Andrew Toby Prevost ◽  
Rohini Mathur ◽  
John Robson ◽  
...  

There is little data on ethnic differences in incidence of DR and sight threatening DR (STDR) in the United Kingdom. We aimed to determine ethnic differences in the development of DR and STDR and to identify risk factors of DR and STDR in people with incident or prevalent type II diabetes (T2DM). We used electronic primary care medical records of people registered with 134 general practices in East London during the period from January 2007–January 2017. There were 58,216 people with T2DM eligible to be included in the study. Among people with newly diagnosed T2DM, Indian, Pakistani and African ethnic groups showed an increased risk of DR with Africans having highest risk of STDR compared to White ethnic groups (HR: 1.36 95% CI 1.02–1.83). Among those with prevalent T2DM, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Caribbean ethnic groups showed increased risk of DR and STDR with Indian having the highest risk of any DR (HR: 1.24 95% CI 1.16–1.32) and STDR (HR: 1.38 95% CI 1.17–1.63) compared with Whites after adjusting for all covariates considered. It is important to optimise prevention, screening and treatment options in these ethnic minority groups to avoid health inequalities in diabetes eye care.


Author(s):  
Lauren C Zalla ◽  
Chantel L Martin ◽  
Jessie K Edwards ◽  
Danielle R Gartner ◽  
Grace A Noppert

Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is disproportionately burdening racial and ethnic minority groups in the US. Higher risks of infection and mortality among racialized minorities are a consequence of structural racism, reflected in specific policies that date back centuries and persist today. Yet, our surveillance activities do not reflect what we know about how racism structures risk. When measuring racial and ethnic disparities in deaths due to COVID-19, the CDC statistically accounts for the geographic distribution of deaths throughout the US to reflect the fact that deaths are concentrated in areas with different racial and ethnic distributions than that of the larger US. In this commentary, we argue that such an approach misses an important driver of disparities in COVID-19 mortality, namely the historical forces that determine where individuals live, work, and play, and consequently determine their risk of dying from COVID-19. We explain why controlling for geography downplays the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on racialized minority groups in the US. Finally, we offer recommendations for the analysis of surveillance data to estimate racial disparities, including shifting from distribution-based to risk-based measures, to help inform a more effective and equitable public health response to the pandemic.


Author(s):  
Don Bambino Geno Tai ◽  
Aditya Shah ◽  
Chyke A Doubeni ◽  
Irene G Sia ◽  
Mark L Wieland

Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority groups, with high rates of death in African American, Native American, and LatinX communities. Although the mechanisms of these disparities are being investigated, they can be conceived as arising from biomedical factors as well as social determinants of health. Minority groups are disproportionately affected by chronic medical conditions and lower access to healthcare that may portend worse COVID-19 outcomes. Furthermore, minority communities are more likely to experience living and working conditions that predispose them to worse outcomes. Underpinning these disparities are long-standing structural and societal factors that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed. Clinicians can partner with patients and communities to reduce the short-term impact of COVID-19 disparities while advocating for structural change.


Transfusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1644-1655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark H. Yazer ◽  
Ralph Vassallo ◽  
Meghan Delaney ◽  
Marc Germain ◽  
Matthew S. Karafin ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Huynh-Nhu Le ◽  
Rhonda C. Boyd ◽  
Ma. Asunción Lara

Depression is comorbid with anxiety, substance use, and medical conditions in majority and ethnic minority populations. Despite recognition of the growing diversity of racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States, there are significant mental health disparities among them. This chapter reviews literature on interventions of depressive disorders and other mental and medical health conditions in ethnic minority groups. It focuses on (1) the adult population, (1) treatment interventions, and (3) ethnic minority groups in the United States. This review illustrates that research on treatment of depression comorbidity is quite limited for ethnic minorities. Therefore this chapter also discusses how cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions for major depression can further inform the extent to which interventions for depression comorbidity can be adapted for ethnic minority populations. Research gaps, recommendations, future directions, and treatment guidelines for practitioners related to depression comorbidity and ethnic minority groups are discussed.


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