White Children More Likely to Have Shorter Stays at ED, Better Access to Medication for Abdominal Pain

According to a new study, white children are more likely to get medication for abdominal pain than Black children in ED.

The study also reports that black and Hispanic children tend to stay longer, up to 6 hours more, than white children. However there was no difference in the type of test done to diagnose abdominal pain.

The study was based on data from National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The records studied were of patients who went to ED for abdominal pains between 2006 and2009

According to another study, Black and Hispanic children were less likely to get medical care than white children. “While the provision of health insurance may help improve children’s health and allow some progress toward reducing racial/ethnic disparities in health, our findings indicate that substantial racial and ethnic differences in children’s access to care persist after control for health insurance and socioeconomic status,” write Robin M. Weinick and Colleagues. The researchers had analyzed the data derived from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component.

According to reports, black children were 39 percent less likely to receive medication than white children for abdominal pain.

"The emergency department serves as our nation's health care safety net, where all children can receive care regardless of their insurance status, ability to pay or race,” Tiffani J. Johnson, MD, lead author of the study on ED said. "It is concerning to find that black children are less likely than white children to receive pain medication for treatment of their abdominal pain."

"All children deserve equal access to high-quality health care. Identifying racial differences in the care of children is an important first step in improving the quality and equity of care that children receive in the emergency department. We need to do more research to help understand why these differences exist."Dr. Johnson said.

In a study that analyzed trust of medical research and care and race found that when it came to personal privacy and potential for harmful experimentation in the hospitals, non Hispanic blacks were more concerned than non Hispanic whites. The authors L. Ebony Boulware and colleagues, report that all the respondents of the study had more trust on physicians and healthcare but lesser trust in the insurance scheme. And, the greater awareness of racial discrimination in healthcare system has resulted in the lesser trust of clinical research among African Americans compared to white Americans.

The study was presented at the Pediatric Academy Societies Annual meeting in Boston on Saturday.