How do American black, white, hispanic, and Asian health care users perceive their medical non-adherence?

Abstract

This study investigates racial and ethnic patterns in perceived non-adherence among American White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian health care users, using data from a national sample of recent health care users (N=5,124). We estimated multivariate logistic regression models of perceived non-adherence for all respondents and by respondents’ race/ethnicity. The results revealed that Blacks and Hispanics respectively had 39 percent and 36 percent lower odds of perceived non-adherence compared to Whites, but the odds of perceived non-adherence were 91 percent higher among Blacks who reported having experienced racial/ethnic bias in health care when compared to other Blacks. Good physician–patient communication was associated with a 63 percent lower odds of perceived non-adherence among Whites and Hispanics. The results suggest that compared to Whites, Blacks and Hispanics are less, not more, likely to report perceived non-adherence.

Citation

Stepanikova, I. and Cook, K.S. (2009), "How do American black, white, hispanic, and Asian health care users perceive their medical non-adherence?", Jacobsk Ronenfeld, J. (Ed.) Social Sources of Disparities in Health and Health Care and Linkages to Policy, Population Concerns and Providers of Care (Research in the Sociology of Health Care, Vol. 27), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 47-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0275-4959(2009)0000027005