A survey of ethnic and sociocultural issues in medical school education

A survey of 113 medical schools was conducted to determine whether sociocultural issues in the treatment of minority group patients were dealt with in their curricula. The inclusion of factors such as different value systems, attitudes, early experiences, and economic and ethnic backgrounds and their influence upon the delivery of health care services to minority groups was found to be minimal. The variables which appeared to facilitate ethnic and sociocultural courses in medical education are contrasted with those which result in exclusion of this information from the curricula. These findings emphasize the need for a greater commitment to offering such courses.