An investigation of associations between clinicians' ethnic or racial bias and hypertension treatment, medication adherence and blood pressure control.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Few studies have directly investigated the association of clinicians' implicit (unconscious) bias with health care disparities in clinical settings.

Objective

To determine if clinicians' implicit ethnic or racial bias is associated with processes and outcomes of treatment for hypertension among black and Latino patients, relative to white patients.

Research design and participants

Primary care clinicians completed Implicit Association Tests of ethnic and racial bias. Electronic medical records were queried for a stratified, random sample of the clinicians' black, Latino and white patients to assess treatment intensification, adherence and control of hypertension. Multilevel random coefficient models assessed the associations between clinicians' implicit bia

SUBMITTER: Blair IV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4061371 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature