npj Breast Cancer (Jan 2025)

Racial discrimination among women seeking breast cancer care

  • Lauren J. Oshry,
  • Ruth I. Lederman,
  • Haley Gagnon,
  • Tsion Fikre,
  • Daniel A. Gundersen,
  • Anna C. Revette,
  • Ashley Odai-Afotey,
  • Olga Kantor,
  • Dawn L. Hershman,
  • Katherine D. Crew,
  • Nancy L. Keating,
  • Rachel A. Freedman,
  • Naomi Y. Ko

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-025-00717-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract Discrimination can contribute to worse health outcomes, but its prevalence in breast cancer is not well studied. We aimed to understand how women with stage I-III breast cancer faced discrimination in health care and everyday settings through the Everyday Discrimination Scale, cross-sectional survey. 296 women, 178 (60%) Non-Hispanic White (NHW), 76 (26%) Non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 42 (14%) Hispanic participated. NHB women reported significantly more discrimination in everyday life compared to NHW women (score 20.1 vs 16.1, p < 0.001) and Hispanic women (score 20.1 vs 16.0, p < 0.001). In the health care setting, NHB had statistically more frequent reports of being ignored (23.7% vs. 5.6%), treated with less respect (21.1% vs. 7.3%), and treated with less courtesy (18.7% vs. 6.2%; all P = < 0.001) when compared to NHW women. NHB women experience a higher degree of discrimination both inside and outside of health care. Further research to understand discrimination on breast cancer outcomes is warranted.