Unconscious biases: racial microaggressions in American Indian health care

This article reports on the prevalence and correlates of microaggressive experiences in health care settings reported by American Indian (AI) adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

This community-based participatory research project includes two AI reservation communities. Data were collected via in-person article-and-pencil survey interviews with 218 AI adults diagnosed with T2DM.

Greater than one third of the sample reported experiencing a microaggression in interactions with their health providers. Reports of microaggressions were correlated with self-reported history of heart attack, worse depressive symptoms, and prior-year hospitalization. Depressive symptom ratings seemed to account for some of the association between microaggressions and hospitalization (but not history of heart attack) in multivariate models.

Microaggressive experiences undermine the ideals of patient-centered care and in this study were correlated with worse mental and physical health reports for AIs living with a chronic disease. Providers should be cognizant of these subtle, often unconscious forms of discrimination.