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Stereotype Threat and Health Disparities: What Medical Educators and Future Physicians Need to Know

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Abstract

Patients’ experience of stereotype threat in clinical settings and encounters may be one contributor to health care disparities. Stereotype threat occurs when cues in the environment make negative stereotypes associated with an individual’s group status salient, triggering physiological and psychological processes that have detrimental consequences for behavior. By recognizing and understanding the factors that can trigger stereotype threat and understanding its consequences in medical settings, providers can prevent it from occurring or ameliorate its consequences for patient behavior and outcomes. In this paper, we discuss the implications of stereotype threat for medical education and trainee performance and offer practical suggestions for how future providers might reduce stereotype threat in their exam rooms and clinics.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a VA HSR&D Merit Review Entry Program award to Diana Burgess, Ph.D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research (a VA HSR&D Center of Excellence), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Diana J. Burgess PhD

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Diana J. Burgess PhD

  3. Department of Communication, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Jennifer Warren PhD

  4. Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Sean Phelan MPH

  5. Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    John Dovidio PhD

  6. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Michelle van Ryn PhD, MPH

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  1. Diana J. Burgess PhD
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Burgess, D.J., Warren, J., Phelan, S. et al. Stereotype Threat and Health Disparities: What Medical Educators and Future Physicians Need to Know. J GEN INTERN MED 25 (Suppl 2), 169–177 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1221-4

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