title: Patient-provider communication differs for black compared to white HIV-infected patients.
abstract: Poor patient-provider interactions may play a role in explaining racial disparities in the quality and outcomes of HIV care in the United States. We analyzed 354 patient-provider encounters coded with the Roter Interaction Analysis System across four HIV care sites in the United States to explore possible racial differences in patient-provider communication. Providers were more verbally dominant in conversations with black as compared to white patients. This was largely due to black patients' talking less than white patients. There was no association between race and other measures of communication. Black and white patients rated their providers' communication similarly. Efforts to more effectively engage patients in the medical dialogue may lead to improved patient-provider relationships, self-management, and outcomes among black people living with HIV/AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. mcbeach@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Mary Catherine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Beach
authors.forename: Somnath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: P Todd
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Korthuis
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: Jonathon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.forename: Ira B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eggly
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roter
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sankar
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American