Objectives The aims of this study were to: (1) examine institutional racism's role in creating health outcome discrepancies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and (2) assess the management of institutional racism in an Australian hospital and health service (HHS). Methods A literature review informed consideration of institutional racism and the health outcome disparities it produces. Publicly available information, provided by an Australian HHS, was used to assess change in an Australian HHS in five key areas of institutional racism: inclusion in governance, policy implementation, service delivery, employment and financial accountability. These findings were compared with a 2014 case study. Results The literature concurs that outcome disparity is a defining characteristic of institutional racism, but there is contention about processes. Transformative change was detected in the areas of governance, service delivery and employment at an Australian HHS, but there was no change in financial accountability or policy implementation. Conclusions The health outcomes of some racial groups can be damaged by institutional racism. An external assessment tool can help hospitals and health services to change. What is known about the topic? Institutional racism theory is still developing. An external assessment tool to measure, monitor and report on institutional racism has been developed in Australia. What does this paper add? This study on institutional racism has useful propositions for healthcare organisations experiencing disparities in outcomes between racial groups. What are the implications for practitioners? The deleterious effects of institutional racism occur regardless of practitioner capability. The role for practitioners in ameliorating institutional racism is to recognise the key indicator of poorer health outcomes, and to then seek change within their hospital or healthcare organisation.

Transforming institutional racism at an Australian hospital.

Background
Discharge Against Medical Advice (DAMA) from hospital is associated with adverse outcomes and is considered an indicator of the responsiveness of hospitals to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the indigenous people of Australia. We investigated demographic and clinical factors that predict DAMA in patients experiencing their first-ever inpatient admission for ischaemic heart disease (IHD). The study focuses particularly on the differences in the risk of DAMA in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients while also investigating other factors in their own right.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F1472-6963-13-330.pdf

Voting with their feet - predictors of discharge against medical advice in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ischaemic heart disease inpatients in Western Australia: an analytic study using data linkage

Aims and Objectives: This article analyzes the literature describing factors affecting nurses' triage of emergency department (ED) patients with potential acute coronary syndrome (ACS), with particular attention paid to gender-based differences.


Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome is one of the most time-critical conditions requiring ED nurse triage. This literature review will provide examination of how triage nurses prioritize patients with possible ACS, reflecting on challenges specifically associated with evaluating women for ACS in the ED. The article presents a description of the research findings that may help improve the timely revascularization of ACS in women.


Methods: An electronic search of EBSCOhost CINAHL, Health Source Nursing Academic Edition, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection databases, online theses, the Cochrane Library, the Joanna Briggs Institute, and National Guideline Clearinghouse resources were used to identify all relevant scientific articles published between 1990 and 2010. Google and Google Scholar search engines were used to undertake a broader search of the World Wide Web to improve completeness of the search. This search technique was augmented by hand searching these articles' reference lists for publications missed during the primary search.


Results: Review of the literature suggests factors such as patient age, sex, and symptoms at ED presentation affect the accuracy of nurses' triage of ACS, particularly for women. However, research examining delays due to ED triage is scant and has predominantly been undertaken by one researcher. Little research has examined triage of ACS specifically in women.


Conclusions: The literature search revealed a small number of articles describing challenges associated with nurse triage of women with ACS. Although most of this published research is North American, the themes uncovered are well supported by broader international research on acute assessment and management of women's ACS. These include the following: gender-based differences in the presentation of ACS can preclude early identification of ACS, advanced patient age often correlates with missed or delayed diagnosis of ACS, and there appears to be a general bias against managing women for ACS in parity with men's disease.


Relevance to Practice: Early reperfusion therapy is critical for optimal health outcomes in ACS. Triage nurses are ideally placed to minimize time to treatment for ACS. An understanding of the issues related to clinical decision making and triage allocation of women with ACS at triage is necessary to ensure appropriate treatment.

Anette von Rosen

Papers

The triage encounter from the patient perspective

Does gender matter at triage