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Racial/Ethnic Disparity in Rates and Outcomes of Total Joint Arthroplasty

  • Surgery and Perioperative Care (CR MacKenzie and SM Goodman, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Racial/ethnic disparity in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has grown over the last two decades as studies have documented the widening gap between Blacks and Whites in TJA utilization rates despite the known benefits of TJA. Factors contributing to this disparity have been explored and include demographics, socioeconomic status, patient knowledge, patient preference, willingness to undergo TJA, patient expectation of post-arthroplasty outcome, religion/spirituality, and physician-patient interaction. Improvement in patient knowledge by effective physician-patient communication and other methods can possibly influence patient’s perception of the procedure. Such interventions can provide patient-relevant data on benefits/risks and dispel myths related to benefits/risks of arthroplasty and possibly reduce this disparity. This review will summarize the literature on racial/ethnic disparity on TJA utilization and outcomes and the factors underlying this disparity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Hania Shahid

  2. Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, AL, USA

    Hania Shahid & Jasvinder A. Singh

  3. Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jasvinder A. Singh

  4. Medicine Service, Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jasvinder A. Singh

  5. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

    Jasvinder A. Singh

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  1. Hania Shahid
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Correspondence to Jasvinder A. Singh.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors report that there are no financial conflicts related directly to this study. HS reports no other conflicts of interest. JAS reports research grants from Takeda and Savient and consultant fees from Savient, Takeda, Regeneron, Iroko, Merz, Bioiberica, Crealta, and Allergan pharmaceuticals. JAS serves as the principal investigator for an investigator-initiated study funded by Horizon pharmaceuticals through a grant to DINORA, Inc., a 501c3 entity. JAS is a member of the executive of OMERACT, an organization that receives arms-length funding from 36 companies, a member of the American College of Rheumatology’s Annual Meeting Planning Committee, and a member of the Veterans Affairs Rheumatology Field Advisory Committee.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This material is the result of work supported by research funds from UAB Division of Rheumatology and the resources and use of facilities at the Birmingham VA Medical Center.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Surgery and Perioperative Care

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Shahid, H., Singh, J.A. Racial/Ethnic Disparity in Rates and Outcomes of Total Joint Arthroplasty. Curr Rheumatol Rep 18, 20 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-016-0570-3

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