Black patients in particular have among the worst health outcomes, experiencing higher rates of hypertension and stroke. In the U.S., racial and ethnic minorities have higher rates of chronic disease, obesity, and premature death than white people. And this effect seemed to be driven by better communication and more trust. They found that black men seen by black doctors agreed to more, and more invasive, preventive services than those seen by nonblack doctors. Researchers set up an experiment that randomly assigned black male patients to black or nonblack male doctors, to see whether having a doctor of their race affected patients’ decisions about preventive care. medical students. A new NBER study looks at how changing this ratio might improve health outcomes.
African Americans make up 13% of the U.S. A number of factors contribute to these health disparities, but one problem has been a lack of diversity among physicians. Black patients in particular have among the worst health outcomes, and black men have the lowest life expectancy of any demographic group.
In the U.S., racial and ethnic minorities have higher rates of chronic disease, obesity, and premature death.
