Physician Communication Styles and Medication Adherence

描述（由申请人提供）：非裔美国人的高血压患病率最高，使其成为种族/民族健康差异的主要贡献者。许多研究试图了解高血压相关过早死亡率不成比例的原因。许多人得出的结论是，与不同健康结果有关的许多差异不能完全归因于获得保健服务和保健质量的差异。医患关系已成为医疗保健中种族差异的潜在机制。然而，医患关系对非裔美国人高血压相关结果的影响知之甚少。本研究将评估在初级保健实践中，医患关系对非裔美国高血压患者服药依从性和血压控制的影响。具体而言，将调查患者对医生沟通方式的看法的影响，以及医患关系的种族/民族构成对药物依从性和血压控制的影响。医生沟通方式也将作为种族/民族构成和药物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.