22 Dec Minorities Place Less Trust In Their Doctors

Dr. Abigail Sewell

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Abigail Sewell PhD
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Emory University

Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Sewell: Ethnoracial minorities report poorer quality of care than do whites. However, one key dimension of health care quality – trust in one’s personal physician – indicates mixed associations with race. This study examines five dimensions of the patient-physician relationship independently of each other to identify the aspects of health care where minorities feel most alienated from their doctors.

Medical Research: What are the main findings?

Dr. Sewell: The results of the study show that Blacks and Latinos are less likely to believe that their doctors really care about them as a person than are Whites.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Sewell: Clinicians and patients should now understand that ethnoracial inequality further complicates the power dynamics of the patient-clinician relationship by weakening the ability of providers to relate personally to patients.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Sewell: Future research should concern itself with ways to bridge the interpersonal gap between patients and providers, especially by increasing the structural competence of providers and leveraging new technologies, such as mobile phones and social media, to help patients better connect to providers.

Citation:

Abigail A. Sewell. Disaggregating ethnoracial disparities in physician trust. Social Science Research, 2015; 54: 1 DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.06.020

Abigail Sewell PhD (2015). Minorities Place Less Trust In Their Doctors 

Last Updated on December 22, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD