Awareness of Racial Disparities in Diabetes Among Primary Care Residents and Preparedness to Discuss Disparities with Patients

AbstractMany healthcare providers lack the awareness of health disparities among their patients that precedes action to improve outcomes. Limited health disparities training is a probable contributor. We assessed primary care residents ’ awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes, their perceived preparedness to discuss health disparities with patients, and their preferences for training and resources to improve their preparedness. Primary care residents (n = 98) affiliated with two teaching hospitals in North Carolina were invited to complete a 20-question health disparities survey. Fifty-two residents completed the survey (response rate = 53%). Most were non-Hispanic White (54%) and had ≤ 50% African American patients in their panel (65% ). Although 83% were aware of higher diabetes prevalence among African Americans, only 31% felt prepared to discuss diabetes health disparities with patients. Their primary concerns included not having information for the discussion (58%) and being unsure how to share information in a way that is ea sy for patients to understand (48%). Perceived preparedness to discuss health disparities did not differ significantly by primary care resident race or percentage of African American patients in their panel. Residents indicated that having information regarding how to discuss and address health disp arities would make them feel more prepared. Cultural competency training and experiential learning were the most preferred...
Source: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research