Abstract

The primary purpose of this project was to understand the experiences of diverse individuals when they visit medical and mental health care providers. Thirty Black, Hispanic/Latino, and LBGTQ+ participants completed a mixed-methods study to share their experiences regarding patient-provider interactions using the Primary Care Assessment Survey (PCAS; Safran, Kosinski, Tarlov, Rogers, Taira, Lieberman, & Ware, 1998) and a semi-structured interview. The results highlighted 10 themes that individuals belonging to minority groups may experience: (a) considering disclosing identity to provider, (b) stereotypical beliefs from provider, (c) health care provider did not understand the impact of patient’s identity, (d) mental health care providers did not understand the impact of patient’s identity, (e) treated differently by a provider, (f) inappropriate comments made by a provider, (g) felt put down by a provider because of identity, (h) biased norms upheld by providers, (i) felt inferior to others in a general health or mental care setting, and (j) felt alienated in a general health or mental health care setting. Participants also cited positive characteristics they would prefer in a provider. Overall, there were more participants who disclosed positive interactions with providers and staff than those who expressed negative interactions with providers and staff. The implications of both the positive and negative interactions are discussed and recommendations for clinicians are provided.

Semester/Year of Award

Fall 2019

Mentor

Michael J. McClellan

Mentor Professional Affiliation

Psychology

Access Options

Restricted Access Thesis

Document Type

Bachelor Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelor's

Department

Psychology

IRB Approval Number (if applicable)

2379

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