General practice and ethnicity: an experimental study of doctoring.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is extensive evidence of health inequality across ethnic groups. Inequity is a complex social phenomenon involving several underlying factors, including ethnic discrimination. In the field of health care, it has been established that ethnic discrimination stems partially from bias or prejudice on the part of doctors. Indeed, it has been hypothesized that patient ethnicity may affect doctors' social cognition, thus modifying their social interactions and decision-making processes. General practitioners (GPs) are the primary access point to health care for ethnic minority groups. In this study, we examine whether patient ethnicity affects the relational and decisional features of doctoring.

Methods

The sample was made up of 171 Belgian GPs, who were each rando

SUBMITTER: Lepiece B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4101847 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature