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Physician-patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns

Brad N Greenwood1, Rachel R Hardeman2, Laura Huang3

  • 1School of Business, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030; bgreenwo@gmu.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 21, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Racial concordance between newborns and physicians improves Black infant survival rates, especially during difficult births. This study highlights the impact of shared race in reducing infant mortality in the United States.

Area of Science:

  • Health Services Research
  • Perinatal Health
  • Health Disparities

Background:

  • Patient-physician concordance offers benefits for underrepresented minorities, including reduced bias and increased trust.
  • Severe racial disparities exist in U.S. childbirth, with Black newborns experiencing higher mortality rates than White newborns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between newborn-physician racial concordance and infant mortality.
  • To explore if this association differs based on birth challenges or hospital demographics.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 1.8 million hospital births in Florida from 1992 to 2015.
  • Examination of newborn mortality rates in relation to racial concordance with physicians.

Main Results:

  • Newborn-physician racial concordance was linked to a significant decrease in Black infant mortality.
  • Benefits were more pronounced in challenging births and hospitals with higher Black infant delivery volumes.
  • No significant impact on maternal mortality was observed with racial concordance.

Conclusions:

  • Racial concordance between newborns and physicians can improve Black infant survival.
  • Targeted interventions in high-risk settings may further mitigate racial disparities in infant mortality.

Keywords:
birthing outcomesconcordancehealth caremortalityracial bias

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