Will the Doctor See You Now? Racial Bias and Expectation in Medical Interviewing

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of patient and physician ethnicity and gender on patient perceptions of healthcare quality. Studies have reported that patients who have physicians who are compassionate and empathetic often experience more favorable health outcomes. This research more thoroughly explores minority patients’ perceptions and expectations as they encounter physicians of either same or dissimilar racial backgrounds. Patient/participant perception will be operationalized using measures such as warmth, disrespect, and comfort. Princeton University undergraduate students were asked to read a vignette of a mundane medical interview and to complete an accompanying questionnaire in order to gauge participant perception/expectation. It was hypothesized that black male participants would report more positive interactions with a physician of their same race, while white male participants would report equivalent sentiments towards their physicians, regardless of their race. Black and white women, on the other hand, would report negative interactions with their physicians in comparison to male participants of their respective race. Results showed that black men reported more positive interactions with black physicians. This work not only illustrates differences in white and black Americans’ perceptions of medical professionals but also gives further insight into an under researched avenue in which health disparities can and do transpire. Keywords: medical interview, race, gender, health outcomes, expectation