Race, Status, and Interaction between Patients and Hospital Personnel

Abstract

FOR MANY years sociologists have done research on race relations in the United States, especially between Negroes and whites. In the past decade, hospitals and the health professions have also been popular objects of sociological inquiry. But thus far, there has been relatively little study of race relations in health organizations.? Although some attention has been paid to the contribution of low-status hospital workers to the therapeutic process, the extent to which the race of the low-status worker may influence the contribution has not been studied.2 This paper presents some data contrasting patient perceptions of subprofessional low-status Negro hospital workers with patient perceptions of the professional high-status white hospital staff.3 The data suggest that from the patient's point of view (1) Negro aides, orderlies, housekeepers, food service personnel, etc. are more effective in meeting the patients' needs for expressive care than white nurses and physicians; and (2) these individuals' low status, Negro race, and sub-professional affiliation directly contribute to their effectiveness. If supported by further research, these hypotheses would have important implications for the sociology of race relations and for professional practice in patient care. Procedure and Setting The data were collected in a study of the role of the hospitalized patient from the patient's point of view. During the initial stages of this project, interviews were conducted with a sample of patients (N = 85) on several wards at one hospital. In addition to the attending physician's permission, to be included in the sample patients had to be white, American born, between the ages of forty and sixty, must have had