Ethnic Discrimination Within Primary Care

Linnaeus University5,367 enrolled

Overview

The aim of this study is to examine whether patients are subjected to ethnic discrimination when seeking medical care within the digital Swedish primary health care service: 1177-direct. In doing so, we aim to identify and statistically control for other major pathways through which treatment differences may arise and which do not constitute direct discrimination, e.g., ethnic group differences in comorbidity. The stored data from the "1177-direct" digital platform enable rigorous examination of discrimination of patients with different ethnic backgrounds that are matched in many respects (e.g., reported symptoms, comorbidity, socioeconomic status, gender). Discrimination as manifested by ethnic differences in health care professionals' patient-centered communication (from the digital chat) and medical treatment will be probed for. By pinpointing the mechanisms underlying unequal care (e.g., discrimination), the results should be of relevance to future interventions aimed at combating inequalities in health care.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

5,367

Conditions

Health Care Disparities

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * patients being 18 years or older and appearing in the "1177-direct" data base Exclusion Criteria: \-

Locations (1)

Linnaeus University

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Patient centered communication

Name of measurement: Person centered communication. Unit of measurement: Incidence of patient centered communication displayed in health care professionals' chat messages. Measurement tool: manual deductive coding of chat messages according to a patient centeredness manual developed by our research group.

Time frame: Duration of the patient visit in the platform "1177 direct". Duration typically varies between 10-20 minutes, although some visits may take significantly longer.

Secondary Outcomes

Type of care received

Self-devised categorical variable capturing the type of care received. Unit of measure; for example, recommended self-care, physical appointment with a nurse, physical appointment with a doctor, referral to emergency/acute care.

Time frame: Duration of the patient visit in the platform "1177 direct". Duration typically varies between 10-20 minutes, although some visits may take significantly longer.