Written by Patience Kunonga, Research Associate and PhD candidate

Everyone deserves kind, high-quality care at the end of life, including the right medicines to ease pain and discomfort. This type of care, known as palliative care, is focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life for people with serious or life-limiting illnesses. But what if not everyone is getting the same treatment? Our latest research shows there are inequalities in how palliative care medicines are prescribed, and it’s time to do something about it.

We reviewed existing studies to find out if a person’s ethnicity affects the medicines they receive as part of palliative care. We looked at 10 studies from the United States and found a clear trend: people from ethnic minority groups. such as Black, Asian, and Hispanic communities were less likely to receive strong pain relief, like opioids, than white patients.

Other factors like age, gender, and income also influenced the care people received, often making these inequalities worse.  To explore these overlapping issues, we used the Kunonga Framework, a structured approach that helps uncover the deeper causes of inequality in healthcare. It looks at how someone’s identity, background, and life experiences shape their health over time.

Our findings show that inequalities in palliative care prescribing are real, complex, and urgent. This research raises an important question: is this happening in other countries too? We need more studies outside the US to find out. By using the Kunonga Framework, we can start to understand these inequalities better, and work towards a fairer health system for everyone.

For more details, you can read the full study here

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