Journal of cultural diversity
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Randomized Controlled Trial
How patients view primary care: differences by minority status after psychiatric emergency.
Patients' race or ethnic background may affect their ability to access health care due to their socioeconomic status, hereditary predispositions to illnesses, or discrimination either perceived or actual by those providing health care. For patients with mental health disorders, additional barriers are created due to poor experiences with the health care system. ⋯ In sum, there were no differences in patient enablement between the minority and non-minority subgroups over the course of the study, nor were there any changes in patient's perception of their relationship with healthcare providers. However, this cohort found primary care services less satisfactory than a general population without mental illness. Patients with psychiatric disorders experience stigmatization in their attempts to access health care. This stigma may have a greater impact than race and ethnicity, thereby leading to a similarity in perception of health care between minorities and non-minorities with mental illness.