Over half U.S. healthcare patients experience racism — report

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — More than half, or 52%, of patients in the U.S. have experienced racism, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund and the African American Research Collaborative.

The report, based on a survey of 3,000 healthcare workers across various settings, also found that 47% of healthcare workers reported personally witnessing discrimination against a patient based on race or ethnicity.

Additionally, a survey by the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing found that nearly two-thirds of nurses experience racism in the workplace, including 92% of Black nurses. The survey was released in January 2022 and surveyed over 5,600 nurses.

According to Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, to address the rampant racism that’s ultimately affecting healthcare delivery, organizations should ask themselves a basic question: “What are we doing to improve care?”

“So, first, I think we have to have more organizations than not working on solutions or not being afraid to take this seriously,” Kennedy said, per Becker’s Hospital Review.

“We need to have a complete ‘no tolerance for racism.’ Absolutely none from patients, from employees, staff, there should be no racism period.”

Hospitals have approached grant-giving bodies to acquire funds to educate their staff. Kennedy noted that they’ve received over 130 proposals requesting funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Carle Health, for example, plans to use grant money to provide anti-racism education and training through a one-hour event followed by 20 weeks of ongoing lectures directed at nurse leaders and their staff.

Charlie Hawnuff, director of clinical education at Carle Health, explained that these zero in on the problematic outcomes of racial injustice in healthcare. The employees need to understand how bias can impact one’s actions.

“And then, most importantly, articulate pathways of combating systemic racial injustice in healthcare. And then we do have some key performance indicators as well that will let us know that we’re succeeding.”