A demographic analysis highlights the significant disparities in treatment among age, gender, sexual identity, and ability. The numbers hardly varied by race or ethnic group, except that Black or African American adults reported less dismissive treatment than other races and ethnicities.
Age. Adults age 26 to 34 were more likely to report that their health care providers ignored, dismissed, or failed to address their medical concerns compared with other age groups. This suggests younger adults may face unique challenges or barriers when seeking medical care. Younger adults also may be more likely to report their dismissive treatment compared with older adults. Younger adults were also more likely to report disrespectful treatment on a different CHAS question.
Gender. Women were much more likely than men to report dismissive treatment by their health care provider, with 16.7% of women reporting such experiences compared with 10.4% of men. Additionally, 14.2% of people identifying with another gender reported dismissive treatment.
Ability. People who reported having difficulty performing daily activities due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition were much more likely to report experiencing dismissive treatment, with 29.7% indicating that their health care providers ignored, dismissed, or failed to address their concerns. In contrast, only 11.5% of those without such difficulties reported similar experiences.
Mental health. People reporting poor mental health, defined as experiencing eight or more days of poor mental health in the past 30 days, were substantially more likely to report dismissive medical care. Specifically, 26.2% of those with poor mental health reported that their health care providers ignored, dismissed, or failed to address their concerns. In contrast, only about 11.2% of people with good mental health reported similar experiences.
LGBTQ+. People who identified as LGBTQ+ were more likely to have their concerns dismissed by health care providers compared with heterosexual and cisgender people. A quarter (25.9%) of LGBTQ+ respondents indicated that their health care providers ignored, dismissed, or failed to adequately address their medical concerns. In comparison, only (14.0%) of heterosexual and cisgender respondents reported similar experiences.
The takeaway. The CHAS shows that dismissive care follows familiar patterns of discrimination — which also showed up on a related CHAS question about disrespect in health care. Younger adults, women, people identifying as LGBTQ+, those with poor mental health, and people with disabilities reported higher more experiences of dismissive health care. These groups have historically encountered challenges in finding clarity and trust within the health care system. The repercussions of dismissive health care can range from frustration to life-threatening delays in care. But notably, more people are speaking out about these experiences, especially younger adults, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced awareness and improved practices in health care settings.
