Aims: Refractory overactive bladder (OAB) is among the most common reasons for referral to specialists in voiding dysfunction. Significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in prevalence, severity, and management of OAB, presenting care barriers for marginalized patients. We aim to explicate these disparities and explore the factors that led to their existence and persistence. We will additionally offer suggestions to mitigate such disparities and approach equitable care for our patients.
Methods: This is a narrative review of pertinent articles related to health disparities in OAB. Articles on OAB prevalence stratified by race and ethnicity, and variations in treatment patterns for patients of marginalized backgrounds were identified from the PubMed database. We also included a review of evidence from governmental and historical sources to provide sociocultural context.
Results: Patients from marginalized backgrounds are underrepresented in OAB literature. There appear to be differences in symptom severity and prevalence based on race. OAB severity seems closely entwined with social determinants of health. Patients from marginalized populations experience numerous care barriers impeding the treatment of OAB. Finally, White patients are more likely to receive advanced management for OAB.
Conclusions: Numerous health disparities exist in the diagnosis and management of OAB. This review is grounded in societal context: health injustice in the United States ultimately stems from systemic racism. Improving our understanding of care disparities and the systems that allow them to persist will bring us closer to equity and allow our patients from marginalized backgrounds to obtain the evidence-based care they deserve.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nau.24949 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
AI for all: bridging data gaps in machine learning and health.
Transl Behav Med
January 2025
Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, 72 E Concord St, Boston, MA, USA.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and its subset, machine learning, have tremendous potential to transform health care, medicine, and population health through improved diagnoses, treatments, and patient care. However, the effectiveness of these technologies hinges on the quality and diversity of the data used to train them. Many datasets currently used in machine learning are inherently biased and lack diversity, leading to inaccurate predictions that may perpetuate existing health disparities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA single-site randomized controlled trial of partner navigation to HCV treatment for people who inject drugs: a study protocol for the You're Empowered for Treatment Initiation (YETI) partner trial.
Trials
January 2025
Center for AIDS Prevention Sciences, Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Background: Disparities persist in testing and treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV), leaving socially marginalized populations, including people who inject drugs (PWID), less likely to benefit from curative treatment. Linkage services are often insufficient to overcome barriers to navigating the medical system and contextual factors.
Methods: The You're Empowered for Treatment Initiation (YETI) Partner trial is a single-site randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a two-session behavioral intervention that engages injecting partners as peer navigators for HCV treatment.
Revolutionizing dental research in the Pacific Islands: the Pacific Islands dental research framework.
Front Oral Health
January 2025
School of Dentistry and Oral Health, College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.
Traditional dental research paradigms often lack relevance in marginalized cultural contexts due to inherent biases and misalignment with local values. For Pacific Islanders, this issue is pronounced, as they face serious oral health challenges while remaining underrepresented in scientific discourse. In response, the authors developed the Pacific Islands Dental Research Framework (PIDRF), a culturally informed, community-driven model that directly addresses these limitations in conventional Western approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOutcomes of Low Barrier Hepatitis C Treatment in High Risk Populations From Primary Care.
J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect
November 2024
Allegheny Health Network, Department of Medicine, 320 E North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USA.
Hepatitis C (HCV) can be treated in the primary care setting; however, most patients are referred to subspecialists. Marginalized populations may be refused treatment due to stigma or substance use. We aimed to treat HCV in these high-risk patients, and prevent a delay in time from diagnosis to the time of treatment and sustained virologic response (SVR), by utilizing a multidisciplinary treatment team in a primary care clinic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerceived Discrimination in the Healthcare Setting and Medical Mistrust: Findings from the Health Information National Trends Survey, 2022.
J Gen Intern Med
January 2025
Division of Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Background: Perceived discrimination and medical mistrust are barriers to care that impact both individual and population health.
Objective: This study aims to characterize the prevalence of perceived racial or ethnic discrimination in healthcare as well as mistrust in the medical system and explore their associations with race and ethnicity.
Design: Cross-sectional study of nationally representative data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (fielded March-November 2022).
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!