Physicians’ Cultural Competency as Perceived by African American Patients

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the association between African American patients' perceptions of physician cultural competency and patient satisfaction with the visit, independent of other factors, including physician and patient race concordance. African American participants were surveyed at urban clinics. Cultural competency (Perceived Cultural Competency scale) was based on the 3-factor model that includes patients' perception of (1) physicians' cultural knowledge, (2) physicians' cultural awareness, and (3) physicians' cultural skill. The results confirmed that patients' perceptions of physician cultural competency are independently associated with satisfaction with the visit. These results further validate use of the Perceived Cultural Competency scale as a tool to measure patients' perceptions of physicians' cultural competency.