African Americans and Latinos use services that require a doctor's order at lower rates than do whites. Racial bias and patient preferences contribute to disparities, but their effects appear small. Communication during the medical interaction plays a central role in decision making about subsequent interventions and health behaviors. Research has shown that doctors have poorer communication with minority patients than with others, but problems in doctor-patient communication have received little attention as a potential cause, a remediable one, of health disparities. We evaluate the evidence that poor communication is a cause of disparities and propose some remedies drawn from the communication sciences.
CITATION STYLE
Ashton, C. M., Haidet, P., Paterniti, D. A., Collins, T. C., Gordon, H. S., O’Malley, K., … Street, R. L. (2003, February 1). Racial and ethnic disparities in the use of health services: Bias, preferences, or poor communication? Journal of General Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20532.x
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