How racial microaggressions lead to poor care outcomes

"A few weeks ago, a white physical therapy colleague of mine unconsciously committed a racial microaggression. She was interviewing her patient, a middle-aged Black male, about his living environment. She asked him if his daughter was at home with him all day or if she went to work.

He asked her why she would even assume that his daughter did not work. The patient was so upset that a third party intervened to help the therapist finish the assessment. How did this incident impact his care? How did their dismantled communication impair information exchange and shared decision-making? How might this encounter affect his physical therapy outcomes?"

Jerenda Bond is a physical therapist and postgraduate student. She can be reached on Twitter @jerendabond.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "The white guys vs. the janitors: How racial microaggressions lead to poor care outcomes." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/06/the-white-guys-vs-the-janitors-how-racial-microaggressions-lead-to-poor-care-outcomes.html)