Abstract
This study investigated factors associated with older African American men’s unmet health communication needs in the context of patient–provider interactions. Responses to a health survey were analyzed for 430 African American men attending a Midwest community health fair. The outcome measure was the extent to which men could get their health-related questions answered during recent medical visits. Men’s mean age was 54; 39% had one chronic condition and 22% had two or more comorbidities. The 53% who usually or always had their questions answered were older, had less comorbidity, higher educational attainment, higher annual incomes, were more likely to be married and have any type of insurance, and have a personal physician. Access to care was the primary factor in shaping men’s opportunities to ask health-related questions, and older multimorbid and low-income African American men may face increased barriers to healthcare access, and thus barriers to patient-centered care and communication.
Highlights
African American men persistently experience higher levels of multimorbidity as they age, in comparison to White and Hispanic men [1].Managing multiple chronic conditions often necessitates more frequent communication with health care providers, and research has shown that many African American men report suboptimal experiences with medical professionals, which may negatively affect their engagement in positive health behaviors and medical decision making [2,3]
Older African American men in particular may be missing opportunities to benefit from the type of patient-centered and culturally informed patient–provider communication that is associated with increased patient satisfaction, improved medication adherence, and greater uptake of provider-recommended management behaviors, among those with chronic diseases [5]
This study explored the roles of multimorbidity and age in relation to getting health questions answered among African American men over age 50
Summary
Managing multiple chronic conditions often necessitates more frequent communication with health care providers, and research has shown that many African American men report suboptimal experiences with medical professionals, which may negatively affect their engagement in positive health behaviors and medical decision making [2,3]. & Gunter [3] documented that some African American men felt uncomfortable with the tone physicians used in communicating with them during medical visits and reported that while physicians made recommendations for their care, they rarely discussed specific strategies for meeting or implementing those recommendations. Older African American men in particular may be missing opportunities to benefit from the type of patient-centered and culturally informed patient–provider communication that is associated with increased patient satisfaction, improved medication adherence, and greater uptake of provider-recommended management behaviors, among those with chronic diseases [5].
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