Welcome To www.LupusMCTD.com
March 28, 2024, 08:26:08 pm *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Forum Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Black patients, women miss out on strongest medications for chronic pain  (Read 2697 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Adminஐﻬ
"Pay It Forward" ஐﻬ
Site Owner
******
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 10407


LupusMCTD Founder ஐﻬ


WWW
« on: August 23, 2010, 09:15:44 am »

Black patients, women miss out on strongest medications for chronic pain

Aug. 18, 2010

U-M Health System study shows blacks are prescribed fewer pain medications, women get weaker doses from primary care doctors


ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Black patients are prescribed fewer pain medications than whites and few women receive medications strong enough to manage their chronic pain, according to a study in the August issue of Journal of Pain.

University of Michigan Health System researchers studied nearly 200 patients with chronic pain who sought help from a specialty pain center. Researchers analyzed the number and potency of medicines they were already taking and the adequacy of pain management.

Younger men received better pain management, and the U-M found other racial and gender gaps in the pain care journey that suggests changes are needed beginning in primary care.

"Most patients first seek help for pain from their primary care doctor," said U-M pain medicine specialist and anesthesiologist Carmen R. Green, M.D., lead author of the study. "If we are to reduce or eliminate disparities in pain care, we have to support successful primary care interventions."

Before referral to the specialty pain center, black patients were on 1.8 medications compared to 2.6 medicines among white patients. The gender gap was worse: only 21 percent of women were prescribed a strong opoid, compared to 30 percent of men taking a strong painkiller.

Problems with access to pain care and previous research suggests that overall, the pain complaints of women and minorities get less attention and lesser quality treatment from health care professionals.

It's a variance that can lead to differences in outcomes such as disability, sleep disturbance and depression.

U-M researchers did not ask physicians about their prescribing practices, but they did examine barriers to treatment from a patient's point of view.

"Men and women differed on a single item -- the notion, primarily among women, to save medication in case pain gets worse. Blacks also more more strongly endorsed that it was easier to put up with pain than the side effects of medication," Green says.

Chronic pain is increasingly common and there are many options to treat it successfully, yet people continue to suffer with inadequate pain management, authors say.

The proper assessment and treatment of chronic pain presents significant public health challenges because pain can hinder ability to work or care for families.

Green, a professor of anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, health management and policy and faculty associate with the Program for Research on Black Americans at the U-M, worked with Tamera Hart-Johnson, M.S., senior research associate, on her latest study to examine health disparities in pain management.

Through previous research Green has shown blacks, women, the elderly and patients from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more severely impacted by pain and minorities have a harder time filling prescriptions for painkillers at their local pharmacies.




Journal of Pain is published by the American Pain Society.

Reference: "The Adequacy of Chronic Pain Management Prior to Presenting at a Tertiary Care Pain Center: The Role of Patient Socio-Demographic Characteristics," Journal of Pain, Vol. 11, Issue 8.
Logged


I look normal, as I have an "Invisible Illness". You can not catch it, you can not see it. It's called Lupus.My body is attacking itself on the inside.
www.LupusMCTD.com Represents:
1) We are patients helping researchers build a future for the lives of others...
2) Where HOPE is a WORK In Progress
3) Pay It Forward~Giving Back To The Future Lupus/MCTD Patients
Pages: 1   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  


© Page Contents, Layout, Graphics and Design All Copyrighted by Credited Artists and are Not Public Domain.



LupusMCTD Founder & Patient
Former Domestic Violence SURVIVOR
Kathy A. Patterson

Author of the Upcoming Memoir Book:
"Fighting From The Inside Out"..
A lupus patient fights the beast within her immune system and the beast at home....

e-Booklet filled with photos and videos of what abuse was, signs to look for,
where to turn to for help, and much more to help others like me...


For more information
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE(7233)



"The Meaning of the Words in the Second Amendment .... "That the people have a right to freedom of speech, and of writing, and publishing their sentiments;"

PRIVACY NOTICE: Warning--any person and/or institution and/or Agent and/or Agency of any governmental structure including but not limited to the United States Federal Government also using or monitoring/using this website or any of its associated websites, you do NOT have my permission to utilize any of my profile information nor any of the content contained herein including, but not limited to my photos, and/ or the comments made about my photo's or any other "picture" art posted on my profile. You are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or taking any other action against me with regard to this profile and the contents herein. The foregoing prohibitions also apply to your employee(s), agent(s), student(s) or any personnel under your direction or control. The contents of this profile are private and legally privileged and confidential information, and the violation of my personal privacy is punishable by law
Photobucket
© 2008 LupusMCTD Foundation of America - All Rights Reserved
Est.November 11, 2005
"We Understand What You Are Going Through"™
Powered by EzPortal

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
Twitter Mod created by 2by2host.com - a web hosting company