Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Patient-Provider Communication and the Role of E-Health Use.

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Health Disparities
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Racial and ethnic disparities persist in patient-provider communication.
• Communication technology is a potential tool to reduce these gaps, but its specific role is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how communication technology use mitigates racial/ethnic disparities in patient-provider communication.
• To understand the nuanced roles of different technologies across diverse populations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey (N=3,504).
• Examined perceived quality of patient-provider communication across racial/ethnic groups.
• Assessed the association between communication technology adoption and communication quality.

Main Results:

• Asians and Hispanics reported lower communication quality than non-Hispanic Whites; no difference for Blacks.
• Internet and patient portal use was not associated with communication quality, except for Black users reporting poorer experiences.
• Social media and mobile communication had varied impacts on communication experiences for Asians and Hispanics.

Conclusions:

• Communication technology adoption is widespread but does not uniformly improve patient-provider communication for all minority groups.
• The effectiveness of communication technologies varies significantly by race/ethnicity and technology type.
• Strategic and tailored utilization of communication technologies is essential to address the specific needs of racial/ethnic minorities and reduce health disparities.