Intersectional Medical Mistrust: Addressing Knowledge Gaps in Healthcare Research

Abstract

This thesis explores quantitative research on medical mistrust and the minority patient-provider relationship in the United States. As a result of historical medical abuses against Black bodies, Black communities within the U.S. have lost trust in healthcare institutions and medical providers. These abuses such as the Tuskegee study and Norplant regulations have had a major negative impact on the patient-provider relationship between minority communities and healthcare professionals. Some research has employed quantitative ethnographic research methods in order to understand the culture within medical institutions. Overall, research into this relationship has shown a correlation between racism, adverse health outcomes, and minority experiences with healthcare providers but has failed to identify the key contributing factors to modern day minority mistrust in healthcare institutions. I suggest applying an intersectional lens to ethnographic medical research on minority populations, specifically minority pregnant individuals to fully understand the role of care institutions in perpetuating maternal health disparities and their impact on the relationship between patients and providers. The paper aims to clearly identify the relationship between obstetric racism and negative health outcomes for minority pregnant individuals by addressing the culture of care within healthcare spaces. This thesis first reviews and analyzes the literature on medical mistrust and healthcare disparities. Then this paper discusses medical ethnography, its uses, methods, and the subsequent gaps in the literature on medical mistrust. Chapter Three discusses research recommendations on how to fill the gaps in literature using longitudinal intersectional ethnographic methods in medical research. Chapter Four discusses the limitations of longitudinal ethnographic research methods. Chapter Five discusses the future of medical institutions and medical research.