Blacks Talk to Doctors Less
Lack of Doctor-Patient Communication May Lead to Inferior Care for African-Americans
Aug. 15, 2006 -- Blacks raise fewer concerns and questions when meeting withtheir doctors and get shorter explanations when they do, according to a newstudy.
Researchers say that lack of doctor-patient communication may lead toless-informed medical decisions, inferior treatment, and perhaps partiallyexplain some racial disparities in health care.
The study showed doctors provided the same amount of initial information ina lung cancerconsultation, regardless of race.
But black patients were less likely than whites to ask questions, raiseconcerns, or bring a family member or friend to their appointment, whichreduced the overall amount of information they received.
In the study, published in the journal Cancer, researchers lookedat how race influenced doctor-patient communication by analyzing audiotapes of137 separate doctor-patient consultations about lung cancer from 2001-2004.
The results showed that black patients and their companions receivedsignificantly less information from doctors -- an average of about 49statements compared with 87 given to white patients.
But when both doctor and patient were of the same race, patients receivedmore information from the doctor and were more active in talking with theirdoctor.
When researchers analyzed the data further, they found the degree ofpassivity or engagement between doctor and patient influenced the amount ofinformation provided by doctors, and race did not.
"Our findings raise concern for a pattern of communication that mayperpetuate patient passivity and limited information exchange where blackpatients, when compared to white patients, do less to prompt the doctor forinformation and the doctor, in turn, provides less information to blackpatients," writes researcher Howard S. Gordon, MD, of Jesse Brown VeteransAffairs Medical Center in Chicago, and colleagues.
"Medical consultations with less communication may have less informationexchange, less patient involvement in care, and could lead to less-informedmedical decisions," write the researchers.
Blacks Talk to Doctors Less
Lack of Doctor-Patient Communication May Lead to Inferior Care for African-Americans
Aug. 15, 2006 -- Blacks raise fewer concerns and questions when meeting withtheir doctors and get shorter explanations when they do, according to a newstudy.
Researchers say that lack of doctor-patient communication may lead toless-informed medical decisions, inferior treatment, and perhaps partiallyexplain some racial disparities in health care.
The study showed doctors provided the same amount of initial information ina lung cancerconsultation, regardless of race.
But black patients were less likely than whites to ask questions, raiseconcerns, or bring a family member or friend to their appointment, whichreduced the overall amount of information they received.
Race Affects Doctor-Patient Communication
In the study, published in the journal Cancer, researchers lookedat how race influenced doctor-patient communication by analyzing audiotapes of137 separate doctor-patient consultations about lung cancer from 2001-2004.
The results showed that black patients and their companions receivedsignificantly less information from doctors -- an average of about 49statements compared with 87 given to white patients.
But when both doctor and patient were of the same race, patients receivedmore information from the doctor and were more active in talking with theirdoctor.
When researchers analyzed the data further, they found the degree ofpassivity or engagement between doctor and patient influenced the amount ofinformation provided by doctors, and race did not.
"Our findings raise concern for a pattern of communication that mayperpetuate patient passivity and limited information exchange where blackpatients, when compared to white patients, do less to prompt the doctor forinformation and the doctor, in turn, provides less information to blackpatients," writes researcher Howard S. Gordon, MD, of Jesse Brown VeteransAffairs Medical Center in Chicago, and colleagues.
"Medical consultations with less communication may have less informationexchange, less patient involvement in care, and could lead to less-informedmedical decisions," write the researchers.
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