Reducing Racial Health Care Gaps Via Physician Solidarity Signals

Research in experimental social psychology has found that the perception or experience of racial discrimination in one institutional setting is associated with the perception of discrimination in other settings. For example, individuals who have had negative encounters with the police report higher levels of medical mistrust and are less likely to seek medical care. This may contribute to racial health disparities, along with a disproportionately white health care workforce and its associated power differentials. Economists Crystal Yang, Marcela Alsan, and Damon Jones will conduct two randomized control trials to test the extent to which perceived links between systems or institutions can be broken. They will first explore the impact of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system on health care participation. Then, they will investigate whether displays of solidarity by health services professionals alter the perceived link across systems, and the extent to which these displays promote willingness to seek medical care.