Perceived microaggressions in health care: A measurement study

The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Microaggressions in Health Care Scale (MHCS), including factor structure, measurement invariance, and internal consistency reliability. We used a cross-sectional research design to study perceived racial microaggressions, discrimination, and mental health in 296 African American and Latino respondents. Participants completed measures that assess healthcare microaggressions and daily discrimination as well as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results revealed that the MHCS has promising psychometric properties. The confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) revealed that the MHCS is a unidimensional scale. Multi-group CFAs provided evidence of measurement invariance across racial / ethnic groups and gender. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was .88 for the overall sample. Microaggressions correlated with daily discrimination scores (r = .67), as well as mental health symptoms (r’s = .40 –.52). The MHCS is a brief, valid, and reliable measure that can be used to assess and monitor racial and cultural forces that shape patient-provider interactions. This study concludes with a discussion of the ongoing need for research on microaggressions in healthcare as well as implications for future research.