Nurses are less likely to refer minority patients to home health care after a hospital visit compared to white patients, according to new research from the University of Michigan.
The study used a sample of more than 14,000 Medicare beneficiaries receiving care from 31 hospitals across the United States. Its results showed that about 27% of white patients were referred to home healthcare by hospital discharge nurses. That compares to only 22% of Black patients. Hispanic patients had the lowest rate of home health referral by discharge nurses at a mere 14.5%.
The study also found that Black patients were more likely to be unmarried, living alone, or suffering from more chronic conditions, which can all increase a person’s risk of hospital readmission. Black patients in the study had a readmission rate of 15%, while Hispanic and white participants’ readmission rates were 13% and 10%, respectively.
“With Black patients, the difference in referral rates was observed against the combined backdrop of the elevated risk profile in addition to poor observed outcome of care,” Olga Yakusheva, the lead author of the study, said in a statement. “So, for Black patients, the observed data are consistent with a potential failure of the health care system to provide appropriate care.”
As to the potential cause for this discrepancy, the researchers said it could come down to miscommunication.
“It could be structural bias,” Yakusheva noted. “It is not that nurses are knowingly withholding care, but they may be sometimes miscommunicating or misunderstanding the needs of Black patients, including needs for in-home care after hospital discharge.”
The researchers recommended that care teams and hospital discharge nurses find ways to improve communication and create outreach efforts to help minority patients access the care that they need.
“Interventions to build strong connections with minoritized groups in our communities and to build mutual trust and understanding between minoritized groups and health care professionals are needed to address systemic inequities in health care,” Yakusheva said.
This article originally appeared on McKnights Home Care
