title: Topical Review: Provider-Patient Interactions: An Important Consideration for Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities in Youth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize literature on the role of provider-patient interactions (PPI) in racial/ethnic health disparities and consider the relevance of PPI for understanding health disparities in pediatric psychology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Topical review of literature focusing on health disparities and PPI in adult and pediatric populations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For adults, evidence is clear that racial/ethnic minorities experience poorer quality PPI, which may be associated with poorer health outcomes. In pediatric populations, the emerging literature indicates similar associations, and potential promising targets for intervention including information exchange, shared decision-making and patient-centered communication. PPI research in pediatric populations poses a number of methodological challenges including culturally and developmentally sensitive measurement of triadic (caregiver, patient, provider) interactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health disparities in PPI exist for racial/ethnic minority youth and may contribute to poorer health outcomes. Pediatric psychologists can make valuable contributions, given their expertise and role within medical settings. Research, clinical, and policy recommendations are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University, jv637@nova.edu.
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Valenzuela
authors.affiliation: USF Diabetes Center and the Health Informatics Institute, and Department of Pediatrics, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011584:Psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: disparities; health care services; race/ethnicity