THE CONCEPT OF RACE IN HEALTH-SERVICES RESEARCH - 1966 TO 1990

Objective. This study examined ways in which race/ethnicity has been c onceptualized and used in the health services research literature as p ublished in Health Services Research (HSR). Data Source. All articles published in HSR from its inception in 1966 to 1990.Study Design. The analyses were restricted to U.S.-based empirical research on humans or in which human population characteristics are described. This study i dentifies the terms used for race and/or ethnicity, the frequency with which they occur, and the purposes for which they are utilized. Princ ipal Findings. The study documents that race/ethnicity is widely used in the health services literature to stratify or adjust results and to describe the sample or population of the study. Terms used for race a re seldom defined and race is frequently employed in a routine and unc ritical manner to represent ill-defined social and cultural factors. C onclusions. Researchers and practitioners must give more careful atten tion to the conceptualization and measurement of race. An understandin g of racial/ethnic differences in patterns of health service utilizati on will require efforts to catalog and quantify the specific social an d cultural factors that are differentially distributed by racial and e thnic status.