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Study: African-Americans receive substandard back pain treatment

Rehab Regs, November 4, 2005

Researches from St. Louis University have discovered that African-Americans receive less treatment for job-related lower back pain, and the team of researchers is now trying to figure out why, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The researchers will examine about 500 case records from the Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation, as well as filed depositions. The study is expected to take four years, which will be funded by a $900,000 federal grant.

Earlier studies showed that less money was spent on African-Americans for medical care and that white people received more money in settlements and more compensated work absences.

By understanding the cause of the disparities, researchers told the Post-Dispatch that they hope to design interventions to reduce such disparities.

Prior studies show that three times as much money was spent on medical care for whites and four times as much was paid out in workers' compensation disability settlements. Caucasians were also four times more likely to undergo surgery.

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