The chapter states that "discrimination against individuals and groups belonging to minority identities persists, leading to negative outcomes for patients and healthcare professionals." It notes that discrimination occurs "in various forms, including racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, and homophobia," and emphasizes that such discrimination in health care settings "can result in reduced quality of care, lower patient satisfaction, and poorer health outcomes," particularly for racial and ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups.

This study aimed to describe how African-born Black nurses felt their race affected their experience of the work environment. The article explicitly focuses on race-related experiences in a U.S. hospital/work setting and is relevant background on discrimination reported by foreign-born nurses.

The discriminatory experiences most commonly reported by nurses originate from patients and/or their families. This directly supports the claim that discrimination is commonly reported in hospital settings by internationally educated nurses.

This systematic review found that migrant and minority nurses are at high risk of discrimination and racism at work. It reports that they experience racial discrimination in contact with patients and their families, as well as with doctors, management, and nursing colleagues.

The study aimed "to provide an extensive perspective of patients with a migrant background who have experienced discrimination in the Dutch healthcare setting." It reports that patients with migrant backgrounds described experiencing discrimination and racism from healthcare professionals, including being treated with less respect, not being taken seriously, and receiving poorer communication compared with Dutch-origin patients. The authors conclude that discrimination and racism in healthcare are "structural problems" that negatively affect the quality of care and trust in providers for migrant patients.

This systematic review of 293 studies reports that "experiences of racism were consistently associated with poorer mental health, and, to a lesser extent, poorer physical health and health-related behaviours." It includes studies of health care settings and notes that racism is reported by minority patients across multiple countries and systems, concluding that racism is "a pervasive determinant of health" for racial and ethnic minorities.

In this qualitative study of Norwegian hospital nurses, the authors note that nurses described older immigrant patients as "uncooperative," "demanding," or "not understanding" due to language and cultural differences. The paper explains that such constructions can lead to "othering" and may negatively affect the quality of care provided. It concludes that these discourses risk reinforcing stereotypes and "may contribute to discriminatory practices" toward older adult immigrant patients in hospital settings.

Major findings include collegial and peer isolation, loneliness, racism and discrimination, and an unwelcoming environment. This is evidence that foreign-born nurses in U.S. health care settings report discriminatory treatment.

This scoping review synthesized evidence on cultural competence in nursing care for migrants in OECD and other high‑income countries. The authors note that migrant patients often report barriers including "perceived discrimination, stereotyping, and lack of cultural sensitivity" from nurses and other health professionals, which hinder access and satisfaction with care. The review concludes that improving nurses’ cultural competence is essential to reduce "inequities and discriminatory experiences" reported by migrant and culturally diverse patients.

Drawing on interviews with immigrants and refugees in a Western hospital system, this study reports that participants "described multiple experiences of discrimination and lack of respect from hospital staff, including nurses." Respondents said they were "talked down to," "ignored," or treated as "a burden" and linked these experiences to their "foreign accent, limited English proficiency or non-Western cultural background." The authors conclude that perceived discrimination by staff is a "common theme" in migrant patients’ accounts of hospital care.

This mixed‑methods study of immigrant minorities in Ontario, Canada, found that participants reported discrimination from health service providers, including nurses. The report states that respondents "spoke about being treated with less care and attention, being talked down to, or having their concerns dismissed, which they attributed to their race, ethnicity or immigrant status." It notes that these perceived discriminatory encounters contributed to mistrust and underuse of health services among immigrant and racialized patients.

This metasynthesis of qualitative studies from several Western European countries found that migrant and ethnic minority patients "frequently reported experiences of discrimination, stereotyping and neglect by nurses and other health professionals" in hospitals. Common reports included "feeling ignored or treated as less worthy," assumptions based on ethnicity, and negative attitudes when patients had "limited proficiency in the dominant language or different cultural practices." The authors note that such experiences were reported across multiple hospital settings.

Analyzing national survey data from 2,041 U.S. adults, this study found that "1 in 5" adults (21.4%) reported having experienced discrimination in a health care setting. Among racial and ethnic minority respondents, the prevalence was higher, and they most often attributed discrimination to "race or ethnicity, level of education, or language." Reported experiences included "being treated with less respect, receiving poorer service, or having providers act as if they were not smart" during medical visits.

According to the abstract: "We explored **negative events in hospital care** as perceived by immigrant patients." The authors report that immigrant patients described situations where they felt they were treated differently or unfairly compared with native patients, including being given less information, feeling that staff were impatient or dismissive, and perceiving lack of respect. Several participants interpreted these negative experiences as related to their "immigrant or ethnic background," indicating perceived discrimination in hospital care.

This systematic review examined perceived discrimination in healthcare among immigrant populations in high‑income countries. The authors report that immigrant and ethnic minority patients frequently describe discriminatory treatment by healthcare providers, which includes "being treated with less respect, stereotyped, or not listened to". The review concludes that perceived discrimination in healthcare is "common" among immigrants and is associated with worse mental health and lower utilization of services.

This systematic review of studies from North America, Europe and Australasia concludes that "racial and ethnic minority patients commonly report experiences of discrimination in their interactions with nurses and other healthcare professionals." Reported behaviors included "dismissal of concerns, lack of communication, stereotyping, and differential treatment based on race, ethnicity, or immigration status." The review notes that such experiences are associated with "lower patient satisfaction, reduced trust in providers, and delays in seeking care."

This qualitative study of older adult immigrants in a Western hospital context reports that participants "experienced being overlooked and not listened to" and that they sometimes felt staff "did not care" about them in the same way as other patients. The authors describe instances where patients perceived that healthcare professionals showed "less patience" or "less willingness to provide explanations" when communication was hampered by language or cultural differences. These experiences were interpreted by some participants as a form of unequal or discriminatory treatment during hospitalization.

This qualitative meta‑synthesis of studies from various European countries found that migrants and ethnic minorities "commonly reported experiences of discrimination" when using health services. Participants described being ignored, not believed, or treated as inferior by healthcare staff, including nurses, and interpreted these behaviors as related to their ethnicity, language, or migrant status. The authors state that such experiences were pervasive enough to affect trust, communication, and willingness to seek care.

These 696 nurses reported seeing prejudice most frequently in the form of comments about another minoritized nurse's appearance or accent. Nearly one-third of respondents experienced both overt and subtle forms of prejudice by patients, and nearly half witnessed it occurring to another nurse.

Surveyed workers personally witnessed discrimination against patients and consider it to be a serious problem. The report says discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or language can negatively impact quality of care and that health systems should review treatment of non-English-speaking patients.

Analyzing survey data from several European countries, this study reports that "a considerable proportion of immigrants" perceived discrimination in healthcare settings. The authors found that foreign‑born and non‑citizen patients were more likely than native‑born respondents to report that they had been treated unfairly when receiving medical care, after adjusting for socioeconomic and health factors. They highlight that perceived discrimination in healthcare is an "important and widespread problem" for immigrant populations in Europe.

Although focused on staff, this 2025 systematic review notes that racism in Western health systems "affects both healthcare providers and patients, shaping interactions and quality of care." The authors synthesize reports of racialised dynamics in hospitals and state that ethnic minority staff described situations where "racially minoritised patients were treated with less respect or taken less seriously" by colleagues, indicating that discrimination toward diverse patients is observed within Western hospital care.

In this qualitative study of minority nurses working in U.S. acute care hospitals, all participants (10/10) reported experiences of racial microaggressions in their work environment. The nurses also described witnessing bias toward patients, noting instances where "patients of color had their pain or symptoms minimized" or were spoken to in a "disrespectful or dismissive" way. The authors conclude that racism in hospital settings affects both minority nurses and the diverse patients they care for.

This U.S. study investigated Asian American adults’ perceptions of discrimination from health care providers. It found that a substantial share of respondents reported that providers "acted as if they were not smart" or "not as good" as other patients, or did not listen carefully, and attributed these behaviors to their race or ethnicity. The authors conclude that perceived provider discrimination in health care is associated with poorer mental health outcomes and reduced use of services among Asian Americans.

In this multi-perspective qualitative study, migrant patients and their relatives described feeling that some staff, including nurses, "were annoyed" with them and did not take time to explain their situation. Patients reported that language and cultural differences sometimes led to "misunderstandings" and to feelings of "being treated as less important" than other patients. The authors note that these perceptions of unequal treatment contributed to a sense among some migrants that they were being discriminated against in the emergency department.

Although focused on staff rather than patients, this study concludes: "Migrant and ethnic minority nurses working in the European Union experience and witness **discrimination and prejudice** from patients and colleagues due to cultural differences." It further states that "European health services should closely monitor and address discrimination and prejudice towards migrant and ethnic minority staff and patients." The fact that minority nurses "witness" discrimination toward patients suggests that discriminatory behaviour is visible and recurrent in these settings.

While this article focuses on nurses as targets rather than on patients, it documents that racial and ethnic minority nurses in hospitals "have faced racism, discrimination, and verbal abuse from patients" as part of type II workplace violence. The narratives describe patients making derogatory comments about nurses’ race, ethnicity, or language. The presence of such racism and discrimination in nurse–patient interactions provides contextual evidence of discriminatory dynamics in hospital care settings that can affect both staff and minority patients.

Hospitals increasingly rely on foreign-educated nurses, especially amid staffing shortages. This provides context for why discrimination experienced by foreign-born nurses matters in Western hospital systems, although the page is more about workforce composition than discrimination itself.

In this qualitative study of migrant patients in a European hospital, participants reported that some nurses and other healthcare professionals "spoke in a harsh tone," "ignored questions," or "did not attempt to make themselves understood" when language barriers existed. Several patients felt that they were "treated with less respect" than native patients and attributed this to their migrant status or limited language skills. The authors note that such experiences led some participants to perceive discrimination and to feel unsafe or unwelcome during their hospital stay.

Using U.S. survey data, this study examined racial and ethnic differences in patients’ reports of communication with physicians and nurses. It found that Black and Hispanic patients were more likely than white patients to report problems such as not being treated with respect or not being listened to carefully by nurses and other staff. The authors interpret these disparities in reported communication quality as reflecting underlying racial and ethnic biases in patient care experiences.

This study reports that immigrant patients in Swedish acute care "described episodes where they felt they were treated differently" from Swedish patients. Some recounted that nurses and other staff "were impatient, spoke sharply or avoided eye contact" and that they believed this was because of their foreign background or limited Swedish. The authors highlight that these encounters were perceived by patients as "disrespectful and sometimes discriminatory," which negatively affected their trust in the healthcare system.

In this Canadian qualitative study, immigrant inpatients reported multiple negative experiences, including "feeling ignored," "receiving less information," and believing that staff did not take their pain or concerns seriously. Several participants contrasted their treatment with that of white or native-born patients and interpreted the difference as being due to their race, accent or immigrant status. The authors note that these perceptions of unequal treatment amounted, for some patients, to a sense of discrimination by hospital staff including nurses.

This US qualitative study found that racial and ethnic minority inpatients "described feeling that nurses and other staff were less responsive" to their needs and that their concerns were sometimes "dismissed or minimized." Some participants explicitly characterized their treatment as discriminatory, noting that they believed white patients received more attention or kindness. The authors conclude that perceived discrimination in hospital interactions is a significant theme in minority patients’ narratives and is linked to lower satisfaction and trust.

This academic overview from UNC describes barriers faced by immigrant patients in the U.S. health system. It notes that, in addition to language and insurance barriers, "immigrant patients may face implicit or explicit bias from health care providers" and may feel they are "treated differently or less favorably" because of their immigration status, accent, or cultural background. The piece emphasizes that such perceived discrimination can undermine trust and the therapeutic relationship between providers (including nurses) and immigrant patients.

Previous research shows immigrant nurses experience discrimination, racism, exploitation, inequitable pay, and unfavorable treatment at work. The page cites a study published in the Journal of Nursing Regulation.

The article states that discriminatory experiences most commonly reported by nurses originate from patients and/or their families. It is directly relevant to the claim because it documents discrimination reported by internationally educated nurses in the workplace.

Discrimination against internationally educated nurses remains a seldom-explored topic in the United States, but the literature indicates that some do experience workplace discrimination as an additional stressor. The article says this discrimination affects well-being, patient care, and organizational costs.

Across nursing and migration research, reports commonly describe patient prejudice, accent-based bias, and racial discrimination directed at foreign-born or culturally diverse nurses in hospitals. This is consistent with multiple systematic and survey-based studies from Western settings.