Date of Conferral
2023
Degree
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
School
Public Health
Advisor
Sriya Krishnamoorthy
Abstract
Abstract There are gaps in the literature regarding how patient-physician racially concordant relationships affect African American women’s health. This quantitative study evaluated the effects of non-minority physician influence on the perceptions of medical mistrust, racial discrimination, and healthcare-specific racial discrimination on African American women. The behavioral model for vulnerable populations guided the study. Two research questions involved understanding the relationship between trust in the physician scale and medical mistrust and the association between racial discrimination and perceived healthcare-specific racial discrimination among African American women living in a Southern U.S. state. A stratified random sampling strategy was used to obtain a purposive homogenous subgroup of 816 African American women ages 30-55. Chi-squared and Pearson correlation analyses were used to test relationships. The Medical Distrust Scale and Trust in Physician Scale scores were significant, r = -.64, p <.001. Healthcare-specific Racial Discrimination was significantly correlated with the Schedule of Racist Events-Entire Life scale, r = .69, p <.001. Implications for positive social change include facilitation of conversations between minority patients and non-minority physicians about the significance of racially concordant patient-physician relationships based on trust. This can lead to increased training and education of minority physicians and healthcare personnel so that African American women can choose qualified physicians who look like them and thus contribute to better health outcomes for minority women.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Joy, "Role of Racially Concordant Patient-Physician Relationships in Health Outcomes Among African American Women" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14550.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14550
