Physician Communication Styles and Medication Adherence

描述(申请人提供)：非裔美国人的高血压患病率最高，是造成种族/民族健康差距的主要因素。许多研究试图了解早产儿高血压相关死亡率不成比例的原因。许多人的结论是，与不同的健康结果有关的许多差异不能完全归因于获得保健的机会和保健质量的不同。医患关系已经成为医疗卫生领域种族差异的一种潜在机制。然而，关于医患关系对非裔美国人高血压相关结局的影响，人们知之甚少。这项研究将评估在初级保健实践中遵循的高血压非裔美国人的医患关系对服药依从性和血压控制的影响。具体地说，将调查患者对医生沟通方式的看法以及患者与医生关系中的种族/民族构成对服药依从性和血压控制的影响。医生的沟通方式也将作为种族/民族构成和服药依从性之间的中介变量进行测试。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): African Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension, making it a major contributor to the racial/ethnic health disparities. Numerous studies have sought to understand the reasons for the disproportionate rates of premature hypertension-related mortality. Many have concluded that much of the variance related to differential health outcomes cannot entirely be attributed to differences in access to and quality of health care. Patient-physician relationship has emerged as a potential mechanism in the racial disparities in health care. However, little is known about the effect of the patient-physician relationship on hypertension-related outcomes in African Americans. This study will evaluate the impact of patient-physician relationship on medication adherence and blood pressure control among hypertensive African Americans followed in primary care practices. Specifically, the impact of patients' perceptions of physician communication styles as well as the effect of racial/ethnic composition of the patient-physician relationship on medication adherence and blood pressure control will be investigated. Physician communication style will also be tested as a mediating variable between racial/ethnic composition and medication adherence.