Considerable progress has been made in identifying distinctive patterns of medical care among racial and ethnic groups in the general healthcare setting. However, relatively little is known about how medical care for workers suffering occupational injuries or illnesses varies according to patients’ race and ethnicity. In this article, we report the results of an exploratory analysis of a nationally representative sample of office-based medical visits to provide descriptive information about characteristic patterns of ambulatory care for treatment of work-related conditions among African-American and white patients and among patients of Hispanic and non-Hispanic ethnicity.

Previous studies have indicated that the incidence of workplace injuries and illnesses varies according to workers’ sociodemographic characteristics. The existing evidence suggests that ethnic and racial minorities, the poor, immigrants and migrant workers are especially vulnerable to occupational injuries and illnesses. For example, studies have found that African-American and Hispanic workers have elevated rates of workplace accidents compared to whites and non-Hispanics, and immigrant workers account for a disproportionate share of workplace fatalities. Authorities have offered several possible explanations to account for observed disparities in the incidence of work-related injuries and illnesses: minority workers are employed in riskier jobs; certain groups of workers may have elevated hazard exposures within a particular job classification; differing environmental or behavioral risks among social groups; racism and discrimination in supervisory practices; and underlying differences in socioeconomic conditions (e.g., housing, education, nutrition) among subpopulations of workers. viagra soft tabs online

Despite the growing recognition of socially based variations in the incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses, researchers have not yet investigated whether there are differences in medical care for job-related disorders based on patients’ race and ethnicity. A few anecdotal reports have suggested that some injured employees may experience significant barriers in obtaining prompt and appropriate care for job-related ailments, and that minorities, low-wage, immigrant and migrant workers face the most serious difficulties. For example, among a group of low-wage, predominantly female garment workers in New York City, it was reported that nonwhites were more likely than whites to have their claims for occupational carpal tunnel syndrome disputed by workers’ compensation insurers, resulting in lengthy delays in accessing medical treatment. In a recent survey of injured workers in California, Spanish-speaking, nonwhite and low-income respondents reported significantly lower satisfaction with the doctor-patient interaction during treatment. female viagra online

Despite these isolated reports, the scientific study of socially based differences in occupational medical care is still in its infancy. To date, there have not been any systematic research findings published on this topic. The absence of published research in this area may reflect a belief that the comprehensive workers’ compensation coverage provided to almost all American workers by their employers assures equal opportunity to appropriate medical care. Also, research data have been difficult to obtain, partly because workers’ compensation insurance claims records often do not contain information about the claimant’s race, ethnicity or nationality. In this article, we derive nationally representative estimates for various dimensions of office-based medical care for patients with work-related injuries and illnesses, examining specifically whether care varies according to whether patients are African-American, Hispanic or white.
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