Racism in the medical setting caused emotional and physical stress for Black veterans with chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as a high sense of distrust in the healthcare system, a qualitative study suggests.
These data suggest that veterans were resentful, angry, and stressed due to the racism they experienced in the clinical setting. Some veterans also expressed distrust in the medical system and were hypervigilant during medical visits, indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder, reported Kevin A. Jenkins, PhD, of Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and colleagues.
The findings were recently published in JAMA Network Open.
While similar perspectives on racism and kidney transplant have been reported, this study provides greater understanding for the nephrology community, noted Katherine M. Rizzolo, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora. "I think this really adds something to the literature because the questions they asked were really open-ended, and they were really able to explore the veterans' experiences, so I thought this was very additive and very necessary as we move into this space of understanding that racism is affecting health," Rizzolo told Medscape Medical News in a phone interview.
Racism Causes Physical, Emotional Stress
Researchers interviewed 36 Black veterans with chronic kidney disease who were receiving care at the Corporal Michael J.
