Racial differences in cardiac catheterization as a function of patients' beliefs.

Kressin NR, Chang BH, Whittle J, Peterson ED, Clark JA, Rosen AK, Orner M, Collins TC, Alley LG, Petersen LA. Racial differences in cardiac catheterization as a function of patients' beliefs. American journal of public health. 2004 Dec 1; 94(12):2091-7.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• RCS 02-066 – Research Career Scientist Award
• IIR 01-180 – Process of Care in Peripheral Arterial Disease
• ECV 97-022 – Racial Variations in Cardiac Procedures: Do Health Beliefs Matter?

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions

Search for Abstract from PubMed

---

Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: We examined racial differences in cardiac catheterization rates and reviewed whether patients' beliefs or other variables were associated with observed disparities. METHODS: We did a prospective observational cohort study of 1045 White and African American patients at 5 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers whose nuclear imaging studies indicated reversible cardiac ischemia. RESULTS: There were few demographic differences between White and African American patients in our sample. African Americans were less likely than Whites to undergo cardiac catheterization. African Americans were more likely than Whites to indicate a strong reliance on religion and to report racial and social class discrimination and were less likely to indicate a generalized trust in people but did not differ from White patients on numerous other attitudes about health and health care. Neither sociodemographic or clinical characteristics nor patients' beliefs explained the observed disparities, but physicians' assessments of the procedure's importance and patients' likelihood of coronary disease seemed to account for differences not otherwise explained. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' preferences are not the likely source of racial disparities in the use of cardiac catheterization among veterans using VA care, but physicians' assessments warrant further attention.