“When explaining what was happening and what the next steps for care could be, with the white patients, the physicians were more likely to stand right at the patient’s bedside and touch them in a sympathetic manner,” Barnato said in a university news release.
Something as subtle as a doctor staying near the door and holding a binder in front of them might be perceived by patients and their families as defensive or disengaged, Bernato said. This could lead patients to ask for more extensive life-saving measures because they don’t believe the doctor has their best interests in mind when suggesting less aggressive care, she suggested.
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“When you survey people in the community about their feelings on end-of-life care, blacks are only slightly more likely than whites to say they want aggressive, life-sustaining measures when terminally ill,” Barnato said in the news release.
Yet, when faced with that decision in the hospital, blacks are much more likely than whites to request such care, she added.
Doctors need to be aware of their verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as any unintentional biases they may be communicating. Doing so may help black patients and their families feel welcome and encouraged to be partners in medical decision-making, Barnato explained.
“Body language is a significant tool in building trust — or mistrust — and physicians need to ensure that their body language isn’t contributing to that decision,” she said.
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