Addressing adultification of black pediatric patients in the emergency department: a framework to decrease disparities.
Racial biases have been uncovered in pediatric emergency care; for example, Black children are less likely to receive pain medication for appendicitis. This article describes the use of the Racism as Root Cause (RRC) framework to identify and reduce adultification (when children are perceived or treated as being older than they are) of Black children in emergency departments. RRC calls for systemic, rather than individual, efforts.