Racial discrimination among women seeking breast cancer care

Lauren J. Oshry; Ruth I. Lederman; Haley Gagnon; Tsion Fikre; Daniel A. Gundersen; Anna C. Revette; Ashley Odai-Afotey; Olga Kantor; Dawn L. Hershman; Katherine D. Crew; Nancy L. Keating; Rachel A. Freedman; Naomi Y. Ko

doi:10.1038/s41523-025-00717-y

Racial discrimination among women seeking breast cancer care

Lauren J. Oshry, Ruth I. Lederman, Haley Gagnon, Tsion Fikre, Daniel A. Gundersen, Anna C. Revette, Ashley Odai-Afotey, Olga Kantor, Dawn L. Hershman, Katherine D. Crew, Nancy L. Keating, Rachel A. Freedman, Naomi Y. Ko

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Discrimination can contribute to worse health outcomes, but its prevalence in breast cancer is not well studied. We aimed to understand how women with stage I-III breast cancer faced discrimination in health care and everyday settings through the Everyday Discrimination Scale, cross-sectional survey. 296 women, 178 (60%) Non-Hispanic White (NHW), 76 (26%) Non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 42 (14%) Hispanic participated. NHB women reported significantly more discrimination in everyday life compared to NHW women (score 20.1 vs 16.1, p < 0.001) and Hispanic women (score 20.1 vs 16.0, p < 0.001). In the health care setting, NHB had statistically more frequent reports of being ignored (23.7% vs. 5.6%), treated with less respect (21.1% vs. 7.3%), and treated with less courtesy (18.7% vs. 6.2%; all P = < 0.001) when compared to NHW women. NHB women experience a higher degree of discrimination both inside and outside of health care. Further research to understand discrimination on breast cancer outcomes is warranted.

Original language	English
Article number	4
Journal	npj Breast Cancer
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-025-00717-y
Publication status	Published - Dec 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Oncology
Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
Pharmacology (medical)

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41523-025-00717-y

Cite this

Oshry, L. J., Lederman, R. I., Gagnon, H., Fikre, T., Gundersen, D. A., Revette, A. C., Odai-Afotey, A., Kantor, O., Hershman, D. L., Crew, K. D., Keating, N. L., Freedman, R. A., & Ko, N. Y. (2025). Racial discrimination among women seeking breast cancer care. npj Breast Cancer, 11(1), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-025-00717-y

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abstract = "Discrimination can contribute to worse health outcomes, but its prevalence in breast cancer is not well studied. We aimed to understand how women with stage I-III breast cancer faced discrimination in health care and everyday settings through the Everyday Discrimination Scale, cross-sectional survey. 296 women, 178 (60%) Non-Hispanic White (NHW), 76 (26%) Non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 42 (14%) Hispanic participated. NHB women reported significantly more discrimination in everyday life compared to NHW women (score 20.1 vs 16.1, p < 0.001) and Hispanic women (score 20.1 vs 16.0, p < 0.001). In the health care setting, NHB had statistically more frequent reports of being ignored (23.7% vs. 5.6%), treated with less respect (21.1% vs. 7.3%), and treated with less courtesy (18.7% vs. 6.2%; all P = < 0.001) when compared to NHW women. NHB women experience a higher degree of discrimination both inside and outside of health care. Further research to understand discrimination on breast cancer outcomes is warranted.",

author = "Oshry, {Lauren J.} and Lederman, {Ruth I.} and Haley Gagnon and Tsion Fikre and Gundersen, {Daniel A.} and Revette, {Anna C.} and Ashley Odai-Afotey and Olga Kantor and Hershman, {Dawn L.} and Crew, {Katherine D.} and Keating, {Nancy L.} and Freedman, {Rachel A.} and Ko, {Naomi Y.}",

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doi = "10.1038/s41523-025-00717-y",

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AU - Oshry, Lauren J.

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AU - Gundersen, Daniel A.

AU - Revette, Anna C.

AU - Odai-Afotey, Ashley

AU - Kantor, Olga

AU - Hershman, Dawn L.

AU - Crew, Katherine D.

AU - Keating, Nancy L.

AU - Freedman, Rachel A.

AU - Ko, Naomi Y.

PY - 2025/12

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N2 - Discrimination can contribute to worse health outcomes, but its prevalence in breast cancer is not well studied. We aimed to understand how women with stage I-III breast cancer faced discrimination in health care and everyday settings through the Everyday Discrimination Scale, cross-sectional survey. 296 women, 178 (60%) Non-Hispanic White (NHW), 76 (26%) Non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 42 (14%) Hispanic participated. NHB women reported significantly more discrimination in everyday life compared to NHW women (score 20.1 vs 16.1, p < 0.001) and Hispanic women (score 20.1 vs 16.0, p < 0.001). In the health care setting, NHB had statistically more frequent reports of being ignored (23.7% vs. 5.6%), treated with less respect (21.1% vs. 7.3%), and treated with less courtesy (18.7% vs. 6.2%; all P = < 0.001) when compared to NHW women. NHB women experience a higher degree of discrimination both inside and outside of health care. Further research to understand discrimination on breast cancer outcomes is warranted.

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Racial discrimination among women seeking breast cancer care

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

UN SDGs

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