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Social sciences
- Health psychology
- Cognitive processes
- Group and interpersonal processes
- Social perception and cognition
Receiving quality pain care is a human right. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that the extent to which pain sufferers can appeal to this right often depends on their race. Indeed, extant evidence indicates that, compared to the racial majority, racial minorities are less likely to receive appropriate pain care. In countries where the racial majority is White, such disparities have been frequently found when comparisons were made between Blacks and Whites. Nonetheless, systematic research into 1) provider factors that may account for racial disparities in pain care and 2) pain sufferer factors that may further contribute to the health consequences of these disparities is currently lacking. To fill these research gaps, we propose a systematic research program examining 1) those racial evaluations that may predict providers’ verbal and nonverbal enacted behaviors towards Black and White pain sufferers, and 2) how such behaviors may impact Black sufferers’ perceptions about racial discrimination in pain care via the potentially moderating role of sufferers’ expectations about racial discrimination. Insights deriving from this endeavor will have important theoretical and clinical implications for our understanding and the eradication of racial disparities in pain care. These implications are particularly relevant for Belgium as Blacks make up a considerable part of Belgium’s racial minorities and evidence suggests that racial disparities exist in Belgian healthcare.