KING COUNTY, WA - Today, King County Executive Ron Sims and Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County Dr. Alonzo Plough issued the Report on Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Health Care Settings, which documents cases of discrimination in health care settings and outlines recommendations to address this important problem.

Georgiana Arnold, Cross Cultural Health Care Program

"This report is yet another reminder that ethnic and racial discrimination remains a very real issue for residents of King County," said Sims. "We cannot accept differential treatment of any kind in any setting. As a community, we need to continue a concerted effort to eliminate all forms of discrimination."

Combining surveys and interviews of King County residents, the report found discrimination in health care settings to be significantly higher among people of color. The report also documents the experiences of African Americans, the group which has most frequently reported discrimination.

"Public and private health care organizations have made strides in offering culturally competent services," said Plough. "Nevertheless, this report shows that there are still serious incidents of racial and ethnic discrimination and differential treatment in health care settings."

Key findings of the Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Health Care Settings Report:

• About one in six African Americans (16%) and almost one in 10 persons of color overall (9%) reported experiencing discrimination in health care settings in the past year, compared to one in 20 (5%) of all King County residents.

Among the 51 African Americans who were interviewed:

• Discrimination experiences ranged from incidents of differential treatment to rude behavior and racial slurs
• Most respondents were surprised by the incidents and considered the personal impact to be very severe.
• Many respondents had more than one story of discrimination.
• The events reported are recent (half of the events occurred within the year prior to the interview).
• All of the events were perceived to be racially motivated.
• The events reported occurred in 30 facilities, both public and private, across King County.

In addition, these situations of discrimination were found to have a lasting effect on respondents.

Consequences of ethnic and racial discrimination in health settings:

• Some respondents reported delaying treatment due to the negative experience.
• Many respondents mentioned actively avoiding offending personnel and/or facilities where the incident took place.

"Given the increasingly diverse King County population, health care providers must make a much greater effort in providing all patients services that are sensitive to their race and culture," said Bill Hobson, the interview study's principal investigator who currently serves as the deputy director of the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Primary Health Care.

Public Health's main recommendations:

• Train health care providers and support staff in cultural competency and incorporate cultural competency in individual performance evaluations.
• Change institutional policies in order to maintain a non-discriminatory workplace, assure a diverse workforce at all levels, promote awareness among consumers regarding rights and grievance processes, and require subcontractors to report on racial and ethnic background.
• Continue studies that will contribute to eliminating discrimination by routinely collecting information regarding race and ethnic background, monitoring and reporting differential treatment, and examining and reporting experiences of other racial and ethnic groups.

The report is based on two previous surveys -- the Ethnicity and Health Survey and Communities Count 2000 -- and a new Racial Discrimination in Health Care Interview Project. The Interview Project, conducted by the Cross-Cultural Health Care Program, documents the discrimination experiences of 51 African Americans.

Click here for a copy of the Report on Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Health Care Settings*

*Note: The report is formatted in Adobe Acrobat PDF. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view it. Download Reader for free by clicking here.