The Color of Care: Race, Skin Tone and Health Interactions

• In Event: 091 - Regular Session. Patient-Provider Interaction

Abstract

How do the race and skin color of patients and physicians affect their clinical interactions? Using N=196 videorecorded interactions between medical students and standardized patients at the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, this field experiment examines differences in physician-patient interaction by the race of the physician, the race of the patient, and the interaction between the two. White physicians paired with White patients have longer and more patient-centered interactions than cross-race dyads or minority-minority dyads. In this controlled setting, without the many confounding factors that occur in real-world clinical settings, there are significant racial disparities in the quality of communication, and these disparities have important implications for the quality of medical care, trust in physicians, and treatment of patients of color.

Author

• Mary Elizabeth Campbell, Texas A&M University