Extensive global research indicates that patients from minority ethnic backgrounds consistently receive suboptimal pain recognition and treatment compared to white patients across various medical disciplines.

全球大量研究顯示，在不同醫療科室中，少數族裔患者獲得的疼痛識別與治療，一向低於白人患者。

The phenomenon of the 'ethnicity pain gap' is evident across the human lifespan, commencing in pediatric care. Research from the University of Delaware suggests that racial bias influences the perception of pain, with observers requiring more pronounced expressions of distress from Black children before acknowledging pain. Consequently, this perceptual lag correlates with a reduced recommendation for analgesic intervention. Clinical data from US emergency departments further substantiate this, demonstrating that minority children with long-bone fractures or appendicitis are significantly less likely to be administered opioids than white children, despite adjustments for injury severity.

「種族疼痛差距」的現象在人的整個生命週期中都十分明顯，從兒童醫療開始。德拉瓦大學的研究指出，種族偏見會影響對疼痛的感知，觀察者通常需要黑人兒童表現出更明顯的痛苦，才會承認其疼痛。因此，這種感知延遲導致建議採取止痛干預的機會降低。美國急診室的臨床數據進一步證實了這一點，顯示即使在調整傷勢嚴重程度後，患有長骨骨折或闌尾炎的少數族裔兒童，被使用鴉片類藥物的可能性顯著低於白人兒童。

In the domain of obstetric care, systemic disparities are particularly acute. Data from 2.7 million UK births reveal that women of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Black Caribbean descent are less likely to receive epidurals. Furthermore, Black Caribbean and African-British women exhibit a higher propensity for receiving general anesthesia during elective caesareans—a procedure typically managed via regional anesthesia for safety reasons. These outcomes are often attributed to the internalization of racial tropes; for instance, the 'strong Black woman' stereotype may lead clinicians to assume a higher innate tolerance for pain, while Asian women may be characterized as 'princesses' or overly demanding.

在產科護理領域，系統性差異尤為嚴重。英國 270 萬宗分娩數據顯示，孟加拉、巴基斯坦及黑加勒比裔女性使用硬膜外麻醉的可能性較低。此外，黑加勒比及非裔英國女性在選擇性剖腹產中，接受全身麻醉的傾向較高——而該手術基於安全理由，通常由區域麻醉處理。這些結果通常歸因於對種族刻板印象的內化；例如，「強悍黑人女性」的標籤可能會使臨床醫生假設其天生對疼痛有較高耐受力，而亞洲女性則可能被定型為「公主」或要求過高。

Adult acute and chronic care settings mirror these trends. A 2016 Boston University study of 60 million emergency records found Black patients were half as likely to receive opioids for non-definitive conditions. Similar disparities persist in the management of Sickle Cell disease and Parkinson's, where minority patients receive significantly lower rates of opioid prescriptions. In palliative care, research from the University of Hull indicates that minority ethnic cancer patients receive lower doses of pain medication in their final three months of life, often resulting in increased hospital readmissions. These disparities are frequently underpinned by erroneous biological beliefs among medical staff, such as the false premise that Black patients possess thicker skin or less sensitive nerve endings.

成人急性與慢性護理環境也反映了這些趨勢。波士頓大學 2016 年對 6000 萬份急診紀錄的研究發現，黑人患者在非確定性病症中獲得鴉片類藥物的可能性僅為白人的一半。類似的差異也存在於鐮狀細胞疾病與帕金森氏症的治療中，少數族裔患者獲得鴉片類藥物處方的比例顯著較低。在姑息治療方面，赫爾大學的研究指出，少數族裔癌症患者在生命最後三個月獲得的止痛藥劑量較低，往往導致入院率增加。這些差異通常源於醫護人員錯誤的生物學信念，例如認為黑人皮膚較厚或神經末梢較不敏感。

Current evidence suggests that racial disparities in pain management are driven by systemic biases and sociocultural stereotypes rather than biological differences, necessitating a fundamental shift in institutional culture and data collection.

目前的證據顯示，疼痛管理中的種族差異是由系統性偏見與社會文化刻板印象驅動，而非生物學差異，因此需要對制度文化與數據收集進行根本性的轉變。