Raça e dor: interpretações de fisioterapeutas

Abstract

Studies show that Black patients have their pain underestimated and treated inequitably. Racial beliefs and attitudes of healthcare professionals affect pain management, perpetuating racial inequities. This study investigated, through semi-structured interviews, the relationship between conceptions of race and pain among 15 clinical physical therapists with over five years of experience providing musculoskeletal pain care. The transcripts were submitted to content analysis, and the results were organized into the categories: ‘race and health’ and ‘race and pain’. The analysis revealed that physical therapists recognize the importance of the biopsychosocial model in pain treatment but struggle to apply it fully, particularly in the social dimension. They face challenges in understanding chronic pain, attributing psychological stereotypes to patients, and reducing social factors to individual issues. This limitation is also reflected in their understanding of race and racism, reinforcing the misconception of race as a biological category, of “racial diseases”, and assigning psychological and moral characteristics of pain coping based on race. The lack of knowledge about the impact of racism on Black people's health hinders equitable and quality care.