title: Creating cross-racial primary care relationships in a nurse-managed center.
abstract: Culturally incompetent communication patterns with providers influence the health disparities of African Americans. Limited knowledge exists on cross-racial nurse practitioner nurse-patient relationships (NP-NPRs). The purpose of this paper is to describe how NPs and patients in cross-racial relationships developed primary care relationships in one nurse managed center (NMC). A qualitative design incorporated a social constructivist paradigm and the methodology of Interpretive Interactionism. Twenty cross-racial NP-patient dyads (White NPs and Black patients) participated in individual 1 to 3-hour audiotaped interviews regarding their ongoing relationships and the impact of the NMC. The analysis uncovered a rich description of the relationship processes from the initial meeting to its current state. Multiple themes for each phase, as well as, four typologies of primary care cross-racial NP-NPRs are described. Significant relationship work was needed by both partners to overcome communication misunderstandings, contextual aspects of cross-racial interactions and other overt and covert perceptions.
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing in Detroil, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benkert
authors.forename: Joanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pohl
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coleman-Burns
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology*; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009633:Nonverbal Communication / Q000523:psychology; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011822:Race Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D013637:Tape Recording; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology*