Having Black primary care doctors extends life expectancy for Black patients, study finds

A Black primary care physician can significantly increase the life expectancy of Black patients.

KIVI-TV reported that authors of a study published on JAMA Network Open discovered the connection as they set out to see if there was any correlation between the number of Black primary care doctors at the county level and the incidence of mortality-related outcomes.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collaborated with the Association of American Medical Colleges for a longitudinal cohort study that examined over 3,700 counties nationwide in 2009, 2014 and 2019. They reduced those statistics to a combined sample of 1,618 counties based on whether at least one Black primary care physician practiced during one or more of those years, excluding counties with no Black physicians.

A recent study has concluded that having a Black primary care physician can significantly increase the life expectancy of Black patients. (Photo: AdobeStock)

The data demonstrated that having more Black physicians in a county resulted in greater life expectancy for Black patients, while counties with fewer saw an increase in Black mortality rates and discrepancies between Black and white patients. When considering an adjusted mixed-effects growth model, the study found, patients also had an increase in life expectancy of 30.61 days in conjunction with a 10 percent increase in the representation of Black physicians.

“This study has brought to light the importance of Black PCP representation to public health outcomes among Black populations across the U.S.,” wrote study co-author Monica Peek, KIVI-TV reported. “Increasing this representation must become a multifaceted national strategy to improve health and increase equity among Black populations in the U.S.”

Despite lacking a cause-and-effect connection, the study’s findings highlight the systemic underrepresentation of minorities in the healthcare industry and the racial health disparities across America. The authors said the study indicates the need to increase the structural diversity of the health workforce.

Medical prejudice, the use of pulse oximeters and the differential in Black maternal mortality rates are examples of the prejudice and mortality hazards Black people experience.

Sadé Lewis of Queens, New York, nearly missed a lifesaving diagnosis because of medical rules about textured hair. Recently, Lewis, who has experienced migraines since childhood, was advised to obtain an MRI and an electroencephalogram, EEG for short, to ensure her brain was operating normally.

Lewis initially received instructions to remove all hair extensions, braids, cornrows and wigs before her EEG. She was also told not to use conditioners, hair creams, sprays, oils or style gels the night before the session and to wash her hair with a gentle shampoo.

Lewis eventually spoke with an EEG technician at the facility — a Black woman — who gave her the thumbs-up to wear mini-twists for the test.

“The technician, I think overall, they just made me feel safe,” Lewis recalled, KFF Health News reported. “Because I felt like they could identify with me just from a cultural standpoint, a racial standpoint.”

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