DELAYED ONSET OF TREATMENT IN A PATIENT WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS: A CASE OF HOW DISPARITIES AFFECT HEALTHCARE ACCESS

Abstract

Most of the literature available on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) comes from studies performed in white population. Recent studies indicate a potential shift in the epidemiology of IBD in the United States, with significantly greater increases in incidence rates noted in non-White patients. (1) However, the burden of this disease on black and non-black Hispanic is unknown. This prompts a re-examination of the challenges these populations face including access to care issues and financial barriers. (2) Patients and health outcomes are impacted by multiple social and community factors often referred to as Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). SDOH are defined as “conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”(1) The concept of social determinants of health contributing to poor healthcare outcomes in certain populations comes from the recognition that race and economic factors are linked to awareness of disease and access to care. In this abstract, we describe a case that exhibits the mechanism in which social determinants of health lead to a poor health outcome.