Study: Latino, Black Physicians Needed to Eliminate Disparities

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Blacks and Hispanics make up more than 25% of the U.S. population, but only 15% of doctors.

More than 54% of African American, Hispanic and Asian patients select or depend on physicians of color for their care, making it critical for physicians from these backgrounds to provide medical care in the nation’s most racially and culturally diverse communities, according to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

The study also notes:

• 70% of non-English-speaking patients received care from African American, Hispanic or Asian physicians.
• Asian, Hispanic and Black patients were also found to be 19 to 26 times more likely to be cared for by physicians of their same race.
• Low-income patients were one-and-a-half to two times more likely to be cared for by Black, Hispanic and Asian physicians.

How can we get more minority doctors?

“One of the most important things schools can do is help talented but under-prepared minority students to become prepared, rather than competing for the smaller pool of well-prepared students,” said study author Dr. Steffie Woolhandler. “The reality is that educational opportunity is a lot less available to many minority students.”

The team behind SaludToday offers such a training program for Latino students.

Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, a program of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, offers an annual summer institute and $3,250 internships to increase the number of master’s-degree-level Latinos who pursue a doctoral degree and a career in Latino health disparities and cancer control research.

Éxito! is currently accepting applications by March 7, 2014.