Racial Disparities in Clinical Communication

FOR SCP MEMBERS ONLY – EMAIL [email protected] FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration will close at 5:00 pm Eastern time on Monday, June 14.

Dr. Bell is a clinical psychologist, communication educator and coach in the department of OB/GYN. Her work focuses on teaching patient- and family-centered communication skills. Dr. Bell serves as Co-Officer of Diversity and Inclusion in the department of obstetrics and gynecology. In her role as an embedded psychologist at an outpatient OB/GYN practice, Dr. Bell provides consultation, education, and brief therapeutic support to adult women at all stages of life.

This presentation will highlight Dr. Bell’s professional journey toward work in the area of health disparities and women’s health, and provide an overview of racial disparities in patient-physician communication (greater verbal dominance, less affect, shorter visit times). Participants will learn communication strategies to improve the experience of care for Black patients. The target audience for this presentation are psychologists who are interested in learning more about racial disparities in the health care context (introductory post-graduate level).

(1) describe the ways in which patient-clinician communication impacts health outcomes,

(2) describe 3 ways in which clinicians differ in their communication with Black patients as compared to White patients, and

(3) list strategies for improving patient-clinician communication with Black patients to reduce communication disparities.