Perceived Discrimination and Self-Reported Quality of Care Among Latinos in the United States

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Given the persistence of health and health-care disparities among Latinos in the United States and evidence that discrimination affects health and health care, an investigation of the relationship between perceived discrimination and quality of health care among Latinos is warranted. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of perceived discrimination (in general and in regard to doctors and medical personnel) with self-reported quality of health care and doctor-patient communication in a nationally representative Latino population sample. PARTICIPANTS Participants were 1,067 Latino adults aged ≥18 years living in the US selected via random-digit dialing. Telephone interviews were conducted in 2008 during Wave 2 of the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Hispanic Healthcare Survey. RESULTS US-born Latinos were twice as likely to report general discrimination as foreign born: 0.32 SD versus −0.23 SD ( P