A new study found that Black and Hispanic kids are more likely to have safety problems while staying in the hospital compared to white kids. Dr. Kavita Parikh and her team from George Washington University and Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. did the research. They looked at information from a big database of kids’ hospital stays in 2019.
The study showed that Black children had a 55% higher chance of getting a serious infection called sepsis after surgery. Hispanic children had a 34% higher chance of having breathing issues after surgery. These differences exist even though there is growing evidence that the U.S. healthcare system doesn’t treat people fairly based on their race and ethnicity. This includes problems with getting healthcare, having insurance, and using health services.
Dr. Parikh and her team wanted to know how often kids in hospitals have safety problems. They used a set of measurements called Pediatric Quality Indicators (PDIs), which were made by a government agency called the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality. The researchers point out that these preventable safety issues not only hurt kids and families but also cost millions of dollars in extra medical bills.
The study suggests that racism built into the healthcare system might be causing these differences. Dr. Parikh says more research and specific actions are needed to make sure all kids get fair treatment and better safety results in hospitals, no matter their race, ethnicity, or how they pay for their care.
See “Safety Events at Hospitals More Common in Black and Hispanic Kids” by Emily Hutto on the MedPage Today website (February 14, 2024)
