The CDC’s National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which gathered data on children’s visits to the emergency room between 2006 and 2009, has revealed statistics that suggest children of color receive inferior overall care. Black children, for instance, were 39 percent less likely to receive pain medications compared to their white counterparts who suffered similar medical conditions. Bossip reports on the story:
Black children seen in the emergency department for abdominal pain are less likely to receive pain medication than white children, according to a new study.
The research, which also found that black and Hispanic children were more likely to experience an ER stay longer than six hours compared to white children — even when the same tests were ordered — raises questions on how race may affect hospital care when it comes to the youngest patients.
The study was presented Saturday at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.
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