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STUDY EXAMINES ROLE OF PHYSICIAN PERCEPTIONS IN CARE
24 November 2004 - Boston University
| Patients’ beliefs play little or no role in explaining racial disparities in cardiac care, according to a new Boston University School of Public Health study being published in the December issue of the "American Journal of Public Health." The study, “Racial Differences in Cardiac Catheterization as a Function of Patients’ Beliefs”, suggests that it is physicians’ assessments and perceptions about patients that could explain the difference in care. |
Racial disparities in the use of invasive cardiac procedures are widely documented, yet the reasons for such disparities remain unclear. It was commonly believed that it was patients’ attitudes and health-related beliefs that contributed to racial disparities in the use of procedures, but prior studies did not account for physician perspective. “Racial Differences in Cardiac Catheterization as a Function of Patients’ Beliefs” is the first-of-its-kind study to simultaneously evaluate patient and physician-based attitudes. Researchers conducted their study of 1045 white and African-American patients at Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in Houston, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Durham (NC) and St. Louis and noted few demographic differences between them. African Americans were more likely than whites to indicate a strong reliance on religion and to report racial and social class discrimination and less likely to indicate a generalized trust in people. There was little discernible difference between African-American and white patients on numerous other attitudes toward health and health care. According to researcher Nancy Kressin, PhD, Boston University School of Public Health, “We did not find that patients' attitudes and beliefs explained the observed disparities in receipt of cardiac catheterization; but physicians’ assessments of the importance of cardiac catheterization for each patient, and of the patient's likelihood of coronary disease, did seem to account for the racial differences in procedure use.” These results suggest that interventions aimed at decreasing differences in physicians’ evaluations of white and African-American patients may help decrease disparities in cardiac care. For example, researchers suggest that to the extent that physicians evaluate white and African-American patients differently, computerized decision aids provided to physicians at the point of care and that offer objective and accurate information might help reduce this source of disparity. “The continued existence of racial disparities in the use of cardiac procedures is troubling, especially when observed in an equal-access system. Raising physicians’ consciousness about the possibility of bias through cultural competency training may help decrease the use of racially based clinical stereotypes,” says Kressin.
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Boston University has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative interdisciplinary research. The Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education supports the University in facilitating research at the both the student and faculty levels.Our mission is to enhance and encourage research at Boston University and to provide a climate conducive to maintaining the University at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities. We work with the Boston University community to plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research and represent the University in research matters related to Inter-University consortia. To encourage new, innovative, and cross-disciplinary efforts, this office administers the Special Program for Research Initiation Grants (SPRInG). We showcase graduate research at Science & Technology Day. This annual event features nearly 200 research posters by graduate students from both the Medical and Charles River Campuses working in a wide range of disciplines. Our annual research magazine, Research at Boston University, informs a wide audience about a selection of our significant research findings and ongoing studies at Boston University. We also maintain a strong presence on the web through this site and through the Science Coalition’s website, which brings our research successes to the attention of Congress and other policy makers in the federal government. To assist Boston University researchers, this office oversees the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and coordinates with the Office of Sponsored Programs on the Charles River Campus , the research administration on the Medical Campus, the Office of Research Compliance, and the various graduate programs. For the development of commercially viable ideas, we administer the Provost's Innovation Fund and work closely with the Office of Technology Transfer. We also coordinate proposals where there are institutional limits to the number of proposals that may be submitted, cost sharing requirements, significant laboratory renovations, or other special circumstances. This office assists departments and centers to achieve a diverse faculty and graduate student body through our membership and activities with the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and through our affiliation with the Clare Boothe Luce program of the Henry Luce Foundation. |
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