Minority Children's Injuries Prompt More Suspicion, Study Finds
Black and Hispanic children hospitalized with broken bones suffered in accidents are far more likely than white youngsters to be checked for child abuse, a study has found.

The findings, released today, suggest that some doctors may be unfairly suspicious of minorities and are overlooking actual abuse among whites, the researchers said.

"This study is a reminder to be as thorough and objective as possible in evaluating children with injuries," said Dr. Cindy Christian, who led the study at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The researchers said the findings bolster suspicions that abuse among white children is underdiagnosed. They said the findings also point out another area of medicine where racial disparities and possible bias may affect health care.

They did not determine the races of the doctors involved in the cases, but they said they suspected that many were white and that the doctors' biases probably played a role in their decisions.

"All of us have personal biases," Dr. Christian said. "It's human nature not to be able to see something negative in a person or group of people who are like you."

The findings were published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/02/national/02ABUS.html