Date of Award

5-1-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Krista Cline

Second Advisor

Jane Gervasio

Abstract

The research presented addresses the following question: Are African American patients more likely to have a negative experience and outcome than White patients in United States emergency departments? This research was completed using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey dataset from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This collection of data, most recently gathered in 2019, contains over 900 variables documented about patient visits in 24-hour emergency departments around the United States. A select number of variables were isolated and analyzed within the context of race to identify if Black patients fared worse than White patients in terms of key characteristics of visit outcomes such as appropriate allocation of diagnostics services, procedures, and medications. The study demonstrated that Black patients consistently receive fewer diagnostic tests and ordered treatment procedures than their White counterparts.

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