Racial differences in physician recommendation of hormone replacement therapy.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have suggested that black women may be less likely than white women to be offered and to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Thus, race and other factors associated with physician recommendation of HRT that may influence women's decisions about HRT were examined.


METHODS
Data were from a baseline assessment of participants in a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of a tailored decision-aid on HRT decision-making. We telephone interviewed 581 Durham women ages 45-54. The association of race and other factors with reported physician recommendation of HRT was tested using chi(2) and logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
Overall, 45% of women surveyed reported that their physician recommended HRT; black women were significantly less likely than white women to report being advised about HRT (35% vs. 48%, respectively, P < 0.005). Additional factors associated with being recommended HRT included older age, being postmenopausal, having had a hysterectomy, having thought about the benefits of HRT, and being satisfied with information about HRT.


CONCLUSIONS
Black women are less likely than white women to receive physician recommendation of HRT. Racial differences in patient-provider communication about HRT exist and thus require greater diligence on the part of health care providers to minimize such a gap.
Weng
H H
HH
Center of Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VAMC, North Carolina 27705, USA.
McBride
C M
CM
Bosworth
H B
HB
Grambow
S C
SC
Siegler
I C
IC
Bastian
L A
LA
D001741:Black or African American; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D017698:Postmenopause; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D044465:White People