02 Dec Minorities & Uninsured Report Being Treated With Respect Less Often by Medical Professionals

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Blewett

Lynn Blewett, PhD
Mayo Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management
Director, State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC)
University of Minnesota

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We used a new set of questions about patient’s perspectives of cultural competence of their providers that was added to the National Health Interview Survey and accessed through the Minnesota Population Center IPUMS Health Surveys.  

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Most patients (97%) report being treated with respect by their providers. BUT we also found important disparities.  Black or Hispanic (vs White), uninsured (vs insured), and low income (vs >200% FPL) individuals reported being treated with respect less often, viewed a shared culture as more important, and saw providers who shared culture less often.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: It’s important that medical education of all types address the perspective of all people including the non-white, uninsured and those with lower incomes and research is needed to provide effective training and educational modules to address these key findings and address structural racism we know exists in the U.S. health care system..

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: We believe these findings bolster calls to improve the diversity of the health care professional pipeline. They also highlight the impacts of structural racism and bias and support ongoing efforts to dismantle these institutions within the US health care system. 

Citation:

Blewett LA, Hardeman RR, Hest R, Winkelman TNA. Patient Perspectives on the Cultural Competence of US Health Care Professionals. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(11):e1916105. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.16105 

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Last Updated on December 2, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD