Annotated Bibliography by Alice Chen, M.D.

Annotated Bibliography

Study: Racial disparities in cancer treatment still evident

Black patients consistently were less likely than whites to receive recommended treatments under the Medicare program, according to research that looked at more than 143,000 U.S. cancer patients over age 65. The study found that the disparities had not changed from 1992 to 2002.  Reuters (1/7)

Survey links cultural beliefs to blacks’ avoidance of hospice care

Many blacks tend to avoid hospice care because of a preference for curative treatment, a mistrust of the health care system and certain spiritual beliefs, according to a survey. Researchers say hospices may have to become more inclusive and open to different attitudes on death and illness to attract a more diverse group of patients.  Forbes/HealthDay [...]

Views on health care quality differ by race

A survey of more than 4,300 U.S. adults finds minorities are more likely than whites to view their health care as fair or poor. When asked how quickly they were able to get medical care and whether their provider explained health issues so they could understand, whites rated their experience higher than minorities, especially Chinese-Americans, [...]

RWJF project offers video on hospital language services

A new video from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Speaking Together project describes the role that language services play in delivering high quality health care. The video features Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts and Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where medically trained interpreters are contributing to safety and clinical outcomes for patients who speak or understand little English. [...]

Links on Healthcare Disparities and Related Topics

Institute of Medicine Report
The Institute of Medicine’s important report “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care” is available in full online, in PDF format. The report outlines information on disparities and recommendations for beginning to eliminate them.
http://www4.nationalacademies.org/onpi/webextra.nsf/web/minority?OpenDocument

“Public Health Reports”
The July-August 2003 issue of “Public Health Reports” is devoted to health care disparities.
http://www.publichealthreports.org/issuecontents.cfm?Volume=118&Issue=4

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