The Urban Institute, a think tank that conducts economic and social research, has released new data as part of its Health Reform Monitoring Survey that supports the need to expand representation in medicine. The study, which was recently featured in the Washington Post, revealed that only 22.2 percent of Black adults and 29.2 percent of Hispanic and Latino adults have a usual health care provider that shares their race or ethnicity and speaks to them in their preferred language. The data sharply contrasts the nearly three-quarters of White adults who report the same.
Research demonstrates that when patients have more in common with their provider, their shared, lived experiences lead to increased trust, better engagement, more compliance with health recommendations and, ultimately, better outcomes. Yet, the Association of American Medical Colleges reports that fewer than 12 percent of U.S. physicians identify as Black or Hispanic, and just 2.9 percent of medical students are Black men.
The More in Common Alliance aims to be part of the solution. Through our partnership, we are expanding opportunities for culturally competent providers by increasing enrollment at the Morehouse School of Medicine and establishing new training sites, with three undergraduate and four graduate medical education sites as part of the first phase.