ERIC Number: EJ978124
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-1465
EISSN: N/A
Racial-Ethnic Biases, Time Pressure, and Medical Decisions
Stepanikova, Irena
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, v53 n3 p329-343 Sep 2012
This study examined two types of potential sources of racial-ethnic disparities in medical care: implicit biases and time pressure. Eighty-one family physicians and general internists responded to a case vignette describing a patient with chest pain. Time pressure was manipulated experimentally. Under high time pressure, but not under low time pressure, implicit biases regarding blacks and Hispanics led to a less serious diagnosis. In addition, implicit biases regarding blacks led to a lower likelihood of a referral to specialist when physicians were under high time pressure. The results suggest that when physicians face stress, their implicit biases may shape medical decisions in ways that disadvantage minority patients. (Contains 3 notes, 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Educational Strategies, Medical Services, Social Bias, Physicians, Racial Identification, Family Practice (Medicine), Patients, Classroom Environment, Multiracial Persons, Ethnicity, Racial Differences, Decision Making, Time Management, Vignettes, Pain, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Clinical Diagnosis, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Stress Variables, Referral, Specialists, Disadvantaged, Minority Groups, Physician Patient Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A