Discrimination in Health Care: Correlates of Health Care Discrimination Among Black Males

Using data from the Indiana Black Men’s Health Study (N = 455), a community-based sample of adult Black men, the primary aim of this study was to explore factors of health care discrimination, and to examine if such reports differed by age and the frequency of race thoughts. Approximately one in four men reported experiencing discrimination in the health care setting. Results from the multivariable logistic regression models suggested that frequent race thoughts (odds ratio [OR]: 1.89, p <.05), not having health insurance (OR: 1.80, p <.05), and increased depressive symptomology (OR: 1.06, p <.01) were positively associated with reports of health care discrimination. A multiplicative interaction coefficient of age and frequency of race thoughts was included to determine if health care discrimination differed by age and frequency of race thoughts (OR: 1.03, p =.08). Results from the predicted probability plot suggested that the likelihood of experiencing health care discrimination decreases with age (OR: 0.97, p <.05). In particular, results suggested that between the ages of 33 and 53 years, Black men who experienced frequent race thoughts were more likely to report experiences of discrimination in the health care setting than men of the same age that did not experience frequent race thoughts. These results highlight the need for empirical work to better understand the experiences of Black men, a group less likely to utilize health care services than most adult groups within the health care setting.