A system for rapidly and accurately collecting patients' race and ethnicity.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the feasibility of collecting race/ethnicity data from patients using their own preferred racial/ethnic terms. METHODS: The 424 patients described their race/ethnicity using their own categories, and we compared their descriptions with their responses to the questions (1) 'Do...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:American Journal of Public Health Vol. 96; no. 3; pp. 532 - 538
Autores principales: Baker DW, Cameron KA, Feinglass J, Thompson JA, Georgas P, Foster S, Pierce D, Husnain-Wynia R
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: American Public Health Association Mar2006
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:OBJECTIVES: We assessed the feasibility of collecting race/ethnicity data from patients using their own preferred racial/ethnic terms. METHODS: The 424 patients described their race/ethnicity using their own categories, and we compared their descriptions with their responses to the questions (1) 'Do you consider yourself Latino or Hispanic?' and (2) 'Which category best describes your race?' (7 response options in our computer interview). We also determined patients' preferences between the 2 approaches. RESULTS: seconds. Rates of missing values and categorization as 'other' race were lower than with the closed questions. Agreement between racial/ethnic categorization with open-ended and closed responses was 93% (kappa =0.88). Latino/Hispanic and multiracial/multiethnic individuals were more likely to prefer using their own categories to describe their race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Collecting race/ethnicity data using patients' own racial/ethnic categories is feasible with the use of computerized systems to capture verbatim responses and results in lower rates of missing and unusable data than do standard questions.