Ethnicity Matters in the Assessment and Treatment of Children's Pain

CULTURAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN CLINICAL PAIN IN ADULTS

In adults, there is substantial literature focused on the role of ethnicity and race in the experience of pain.^4–16 Although there have been some contradictory findings, as a whole this literature suggests ethnic differences in perception, assessment, and treatment across settings and types of pain,¹¹ differences that persist even after controlling for potential confounding variables such as socioeconomic status, gender, age, education, marital status, and psychological variables such as emotional state.^4,7–10 Survey research suggests that Hispanic individuals may be less likely than white and black individuals to seek treatment by a physician for pain and black individuals may be more likely than white and Hispanic adults to use prescription medication for the treatment of pain.^{13 …}