Research from Texas A&M University suggests that Black and African American men who report more discrimination in healthcare settings talk less about their Type 2 diabetes, even though they communicate often with people in their social networks overall. Black and African American adults are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at higher rates than non-Hispanic white adults and face higher rates of serious complications.
Dr. Tyler Prochnow, an associate professor in the School of Public Health, and his colleagues analyzed a national survey of 1,225 Black and African American men with Type 2 diabetes. The two studies were published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities and Social Science & Medicine. The findings suggest that diabetes-specific conversations are strongly associated with self-care behaviors.
The researchers used an adapted version of the Everyday Discrimination Scale for medical settings. Prochnow said everyday discrimination was linked to more conversation of every kind, including about diabetes, while healthcare discrimination was linked to more general conversation but less talk about diabetes. He said managing Type 2 diabetes depends heavily on trust and communication between patients and their care teams, and that negative experiences during appointments can cause lasting harm.