The Relationship of Race/Ethnicity Concordance to Physician-Patient Communication: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review

Abstract

The concept of race or ethnic concordance between health care provider and patient has emerged as a dimension of the patient-physician relationship that could influence health outcomes for patients from minoritized groups, particularly through differences in the way physicians communicate with patients based on race or ethnicity. However, two decades of study on concordance and physician-patient communication have produced contradictory results. Given the heightened societal awareness of racism and the persistence of health disparities, there is a need for a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge. This review sets out to determine how communication patterns differ in race/ethnicity concordant versus discordant patient-physician medical encounters. Thirty-three studies employing a range of methodologies were identified. In most analyses, after accounting for covariates, no relationship was found between race/ethnicity concordance and communication variables. Race/ethnicity concordance with their physician does not appear to influence the quality of communication for most patients from minoritized groups. A number of methodological weaknesses were identified in existing research, among them: few studies investigated potential explanatory variables, the heterogeneity of ethnic and cultural experience was over-simplified, there was little consistency in operationalization of communication variables, and the physician-patient dynamic was inadequately conceptualized.