First Nations patients more likely to leave ER without getting care, study says
First Nations patients are more likely to leave Alberta emergency departments before receiving care than other patients — and anti-Indigenous racism is a significant reason why, a new study says.
“The stories are incredibly powerful,” said Patrick McLane, the lead author of the study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
“First Nations people have said (that) sometimes it’s really obvious when there’s racism, but sometimes it’s not and it’s always present as a possibility,” McLane, an adjunct associate professor of emergency medicine with the University of Alberta, said in an interview.
Although the study was conducted in Alberta, the findings likely apply to emergency department visits across Canada, he said.