Unconscious Bias Affects Pain Treatment

Pediatricians may treat pain differently depending upon the race of the child. That’s the conclusion from a new study in the American Journal of Public Health. The researchers surveyed 86 pediatricians for unconscious racial bias. Then the doctors were asked to provide pain management plans in hypothetical scenarios. Doctors who harbored unconscious preferences for European-American children provided better pain treatment recommendations for white children. This study reinforces prior research that demonstrated undertreatment of pain in African-American patients.
[American Journal of Public Health, online, March 15, 2012]