Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

38 PATIENT AND CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE 1 in 10 Black patients faces discrimination from healthcare staff By Mackenzie Bean N early 11 percent of Black patients say they've experienced discrimination by a healthcare provider or their staff, according to an April 5 analysis from Urban Institute, a le-leaning think tank. e research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is based on responses from a nationally representative group of 4,007 U.S. adults surveyed between Sept. 11 and Sept. 28, 2020. Overall, Urban Institute found Black adults (10.6 percent) were more likely to report having been discriminated against or judged unfairly by a healthcare provider than white adults (3.6 percent) or Latinx adults (4.5 percent). Black women reported the highest rate of discrimination (13.1 percent) of all race/ ethnicity and gender groups. Adults with lower incomes were also more likely to report discrimination or unfair judgment. "ese patterns are concerning given that healthcare disruptions and suboptimal quality that result from unfair treatment can lead people to delay or forgo care, to search for a new provider and to experience adverse health consequences," Urban Institute wrote. e organization said policy and practice changes are needed to eliminate this well-doc- umented pattern of systematically worse treatment for patients of color. n Americans report worsening anxiety, depression symptoms: 4 CDC findings By Erica Carbajal T he percentage of U.S. adults re- porting symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder rose between August 2020 and February 2021, accord- ing to a CDC report published March 26. The report is based on the ongoing Household Pulse Survey, a national on- line poll developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and the CDC, which was distribut- ed to a nationally representative sample of tens of thousands of Americans. Four report findings: 1. From August 2020 to February, the per- centage of people who reported experi- encing symptoms of anxiety or depres- sion during a seven-day period from 36.4 percent to 41.5 percent, respectively. 2. In August, 9.2 percent of people re- ported an unmet need for counseling services or therapy during the previous four weeks. That rose to 11.7 percent in February. 3. Overall, the number of people who were receiving mental health treatment increased from 22.4 percent in August to 24.8 percent in February. 4. Adults ages 18 to 29 and people who didn't finish high school reported the largest increases in anxiety or depres- sion symptoms. "You have extended social restrictions, limits on businesses, isolation and is- sues with employment — these have all been associated with increases in mental health problems," Anjel Vahratian, PhD, lead study author and associate director at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, told The New York Times. "We can't speak to the direct causes because the survey didn't ask about the causes of the symptoms. But it suggests that a va- riety of things going on during the pan- demic are involved." n Most young nurses overwhelmed, exhausted during pandemic's 1st year By Erica Carbajal A bout 71 percent of young nurses said they felt overwhelmed during the pandemic's first year, according to survey results published March 10 — just ahead of the March 11 anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic's start. The American Nurses Foundation, the charitable branch of the American Nurses Association, collected responses from 22,316 nurses between Jan. 19 and Feb. 16. Four more findings: 1. Eighty-one percent of nurses age 34 and younger reported feeling exhaust- ed over the pandemic's first year, and 65 percent said they felt anxious or un- able to relax. 2. Among nurses who said they plan to leave the profession, 47 percent cited work having a negative effect on their health and well-being as a main factor, followed by insufficient staffing at 45 percent. 3. Among the 30 percent of nurses surveyed who weren't vaccinated against COVID-19, 46 percent identify as Black or African American. 4. While the majority, 73 percent, of respondents said they had adequate personal protective equipment at the time they were surveyed, 33 percent reported there was no communication plan regarding PPE inventory at their workplace. n

• Cover