Reducing racial disparities in pain treatment requires an interdisciplinary approach to identifying causes of racial biases and teaching health care professionals to recognize and reduce them.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):221-228. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.medu1-1503.
When communicating with patients with whom they do not share the same first language or ethnic background, physicians should be aware of possible prejudice or resistance on the part of the patient and do everything possible to assure that the patient can listen and participate effectively, even if that means adding another professional of the patient's ethnicity to the conversation.
The widespread perception that Jewish law unequivocally demands that all measures must be taken to prolong the life of a dying patient, even if they will prolong dying or cause suffering, is incorrect.
Taking care of patients whose cultures, belief systems, and family hierarchy structures differ from those on which many U.S. laws and regulations involves strategies—particularly regarding end-of-life care and surrogate decision making.
Taking care of patients whose cultures, belief systems, and family hierarchy structures differ from those on which many U.S. laws and regulations involves strategies—particularly regarding end-of-life care and surrogate decision making.
Katherine E. Clarridge, Ernest A. Fischer, Andrea R. Quintana, and James M. Wagner, MD
An argument is made for integrating Spanish language instruction into education of the interdisciplinary health care team, if not into the medical education of physicians per se.
Increased awareness and improvement in access are needed in order to alleviate the racial disparities that exist with regard to the underutilization of hospice care by African Americans and other ethnic populations.