Medical Mistrust, Racism, and Delays in Preventive Health Screening Among African-American Men

Abstract

The contribution of medical mistrust to healthcare utilization delays has gained increased public health attention. However, few studies examine these associations among African-American men, who delay preventive healthcare more often and report higher levels of medical mistrust than non-Hispanic White men. Additionally, studies rarely account for other factors reportedly working in tandem with medical mistrust to increase African-American men’s preventive health screening delays (i.e., everyday racism and perceived racism in healthcare). We examined associations between medical mistrust, perceived racism in healthcare, everyday racism, and preventive health screening delays. Analyses were conducted using cross-sectional data from 610 African-American men aged 20 years and older recruited primarily from barbershops in four US regions (2003–2009). Independent variables were medical mistrust (MM), everyday racism (ER), and perceived racism in healthcare (PRH). Dependent variables were self-reported routine checkup, blood pressure screening, and cholesterol screening delays. Using multiple logistic regression and tests for mediation, we calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to assess associations between the independent and dependent variables. After final adjustment, African-American men with higher MM were significantly more likely to delay blood pressure screenings. Men with more frequent ER exposure were significantly more likely to delay routine checkups and blood pressure screenings. Higher levels of PRH were associated with a significant increased likelihood of delaying cholesterol screening. MM did not mediate associations between ER and screening delays. Increasing preventive health screening among African-American men requires addressing medical mistrust and racism in and outside healthcare institutions.