Unpacking Contemporary Racism in Healthcare: The Ramifications of Racial Microaggressions from Healthcare Professionals and Considerations for Undergraduate Education
Experiencing clinician perpetrated microaggressions is associated with poorer health outcomes in people of color. While physician education offers immediate impact, evidence of racial bias among medical students underscores the need to tackle racism before medical school. We examined perceptions of...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Race and social problems
Year: 2025, Volume: 17, Issue: 4, Pages: 496-508 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | Experiencing clinician perpetrated microaggressions is associated with poorer health outcomes in people of color. While physician education offers immediate impact, evidence of racial bias among medical students underscores the need to tackle racism before medical school. We examined perceptions of patient-physician racial microaggressions and relevance of undergraduate major. In Study 1 (N = 117) and Study 2 (N = 98), we conducted a single factor (microaggression: present vs. absent) repeated measures design with patient race (Black and Native American), as a within-subjects variable. Participants read two scripts where the physician either committed a microaggression against the patient or did not. Study 1 revealed that physicians attending to Black patients were perceived as more credible and more culturally competent compared to physicians who treated Native American patients. Natural-science-focused pre-health majors demonstrated a greater acceptability of racial microaggressions. Study 2 results mostly replicated those of Study 1. Our results suggest that patient race can influence perceptions of the physician regardless of how they are treating the patient, while microaggressions lead to negative evaluations of physicians. |
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| ISSN: | 1867-1756 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s12552-025-09456-y |
