Contours of Care: The Doctor-Patient Relationship, Race, and Health Outcomes

• In Event: 322 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

Although the doctor-patient relationship has long been of interest to sociologists, only a small portion of this research has explicitly examined how different aspects of care influence perceptions of health. Research on the clinical encounter has also experienced a renewed interest among health disparities researchers amidst calls to attend to the contributions of the medical system to racial and ethnic disparities in health. While research towards this end has been fruitful, little is known about how different dimensions of the doctor-patient relationship may serve to reduce white v. minority group health disparities, or if different components of this relationship matter more for members of certain racial and ethnic groups than for others. Using a large, nationally representative data set (n=44,051), I examine three questions: 1) What are the effects of continuity of care, physician behaviors, and levels of physician trust on self-rated health? 2) Does accounting for these factors reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health? and 3) How do the different components of the doctor-patient relationship operate across racial and ethnic groups? I find that while physician behaviors and levels of trust are associated with lower odds of poor health, there is little evidence that these aspects of the therapeutic alliance reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. It does appear, however, that certain groups benefit more than others from different components of the doctor-patient relationship. This differential patterning sheds light on areas of primary care that can be bolstered to improve the health profiles of minority group members.

Author

• Matthew K. Grace, Indiana University