Racial Experiences of Asian Nurses’ Lives
(REAL) Study
About
While all nurses are experiencing challenges alike, Asian nurses face the additional burden of an alarming onslaught of racism, xenophobia, race-related violence, and physical and verbal attacks resulting from anti-Asian rhetoric since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate reported a 339 percent increase in racially motivated attacks on Asians since the beginning of COVID-19.
A recent national study of racism in nursing by the American Nurses Association in 2022, the first of its kind, found that 72% of nurses who self-identified as Asians reported having personally experienced racism at work. In addition, being Asian (versus Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders), females, non-heterosexuals, and younger were significantly correlated with discrimination experiences.
​This study examined individual and work environment characteristics associated with racism and discrimination experienced by Asian nurses.
Funding
This study was funded by the Global Korean Nurses Foundation(GKNF)-USA Mi Ja Kim Research Grant.
Results
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Nurses who self-identified as Asians reported a rise in workplace discrimination following the onset of COVID-19, with average discrimination scores increasing from 4.6 to 5.3.
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Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74.2%) experienced job harassment, unfair treatment, or feelings of invisibility at work at least a few times per year.
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Frequent experiences of workplace discrimination were significantly associated with higher odds of burnout (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.67).
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Burnout was also more likely among those who primarily spoke English (aOR = 2.44) and those working more than 40 hours per week (aOR = 2.10).
Publication
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Jun J, Kue J, Kasumova A, Kim M. Workplace Discrimination and Burnout Among Asian Nurses in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(9):e2333833. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.33833