Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35578322›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2022

Racism in healthcare: a scoping review.

Sarah Hamed, Hannah Bradby, Beth Maina Ahlberg, Suruchi Thapar-Björkert

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 204 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
204citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

204 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Interventions to improve Cultural Safety in healthcare in CANZUS countries: a systematic mixed studies review of First Nations Peoples' experiences.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2026
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144 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Sarah Hamed *Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. sarah.hamed@soc.uu.se.
Hannah Bradby *Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Beth Maina Ahlberg *Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Suruchi Thapar-Björkert *Department of Government, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRacism constitutes a barrier towards achieving equitable healthcare as documented in research showing unequal processes of delivering, accessing, and receiving healthcare across countries and healthcare indicators. This review summarizes studies examining how racism is discussed and produced in the process of delivering, accessing and receiving healthcare across various national contexts.

methodThe PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews were followed and databases were searched for peer reviewed empirical articles in English across national contexts. No starting date limitation was applied for this review. The end date was December 1, 2020. The review scoped 213 articles. The results were summarized, coded and thematically categorized in regards to the aim.

resultsThe review yielded the following categories: healthcare users' experiences of racism in healthcare; healthcare staff's experiences of racism; healthcare staff's racial attitudes and beliefs; effects of racism in healthcare on various treatment choices; healthcare staff's reflections on racism in healthcare and; antiracist training in healthcare. Racialized minorities experience inadequate healthcare and being dismissed in healthcare interactions. Experiences of racism are associated with lack of trust and delay in seeking healthcare. Racialized minority healthcare staff experience racism in their workplace from healthcare users and colleagues and lack of organizational support in managing racism. Research on healthcare staff's racial attitudes and beliefs demonstrate a range of negative stereotypes regarding racialized minority healthcare users who are viewed as difficult. Research on implicit racial bias illustrates that healthcare staff exhibit racial bias in favor of majority group. Healthcare staff's racial bias may influence medical decisions negatively. Studies examining healthcare staff's reflections on racism and antiracist training show that healthcare staff tend to construct healthcare as impartial and that healthcare staff do not readily discuss racism in their workplace.

conclusionsThe USA dominates the research. It is imperative that research covers other geo-political contexts. Research on racism in healthcare is mainly descriptive, atheoretical, uses racial categories uncritically and tends to ignore racialization processes making it difficult to conceptualize racism. Sociological research on racism could inform research on racism as it theoretically explains racism's structural embeddedness, which could aid in tackling racism to provide good quality care.

Indexed as

RacismDelivery of Health CareHealth FacilitiesHumansMinority GroupsTrustDiscriminationHealthcareRacismReview

Identifiers

PMID35578322
PMCPMC9112453

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.