Racial Discrimination in Healthcare Settings and Mental Health Among a Population-Based Sample of Adults Confirmed with Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing racial health disparities and racial discrimination in healthcare; however, little is known about how racial discrimination in healthcare settings is related to mental health during the pandemic. Using a population-based probability sample of adults with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Michigan, we examined how measures of perceived racial discrimination in (1) seeking health care for COVID-19 (n=4,133) and (2) receiving testing/treatment for COVID-19 (n=4,181) were associated with binary variables of depressive and anxiety symptoms. We conducted a modified Poisson regression analysis with robust standard errors to estimate associations between each measure of racial discrimination and each mental health outcome separately, adjusting for demographic and socio-economic variables, health insurance, and pre-existing physical and psychiatric conditions. 2.4% and 3.5% of adults reported racial discrimination in seeking healthcare for COVID-19 and in getting testing/treatment for COVID-19, respectively. Although the overall prevalence of racial discrimination in healthcare settings was low, experiences of racial discrimination were associated with depressive symptoms. Adults who experienced racial discrimination in seeking healthcare had 1.73 times higher prevalence of reporting depressive symptoms (95% CI: 1.21−2.48) than those who did not. Moreover, adults who experienced racial discrimination in getting testing/treatment had 1.79 times higher prevalence of reporting depressive symptoms (95% CI: 1.38−2.33) than those who did not. Neither measure of racial discrimination was associated with anxiety symptoms in the adjusted models. There is a critical need for developing anti-racial discrimination policies, educational programs, and awareness efforts in healthcare settings.