A shocking new study has revealed that African American children are three and a half times more likely to die after surgery than their white counterparts. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, analyzed health data from 172,549 children who underwent surgery in 186 hospitals across the United States between 2012 and 2017. The results showed that 0.07% of African American children died within 30 days of surgery, compared to just 0.02% of white children. The study excluded children with chronic illnesses and comorbidities, which are more prevalent among African American children, to avoid skewing the results.
According to the study’s authors, the increased risk of death among African American children after surgery is due to a combination of medical, social, and economic factors. The authors identified socioeconomic status as the strongest influence, as African American families are more likely to have limited access to quality healthcare. Hospitals in predominantly African American neighborhoods are also often less well-equipped than those in predominantly white neighborhoods. Previous studies have also suggested that communication problems between doctors and patients, as well as unconscious biases among medical staff, may contribute to postoperative complications among African American patients.
While the study did not find evidence of systematic racism among doctors and nurses, it highlights the urgent need for further research to identify the specific mechanisms behind the disparities in postoperative outcomes for African American children. The authors hope that their findings will lead to the development of targeted interventions to improve surgical outcomes for African American children and reduce the racial disparities in healthcare.
