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Cited by 676Experimental Behavioral Economics StudiesHealth disparities and outcomesPatient-Provider Communication in Healthcare

Does Diversity Matter for Health? Experimental Evidence from Oakland

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Alsan, Marcella, Garrick, Owen, Graziani, Grant·2019·American Economic Review
DOI 10.1257/aer.20181446
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Abstract

We study the effect of physician workforce diversity on the demand for preventive care among African American men. In an experiment in Oakland, California, we randomize black men to black or non-black male medical doctors. We use a two-stage design, measuring decisions before (pre-consultation) and after (post-consultation) meeting their assigned doctor. Subjects select a similar number of preventives in the pre-consultation stage, but are much more likely to select every preventive service, particularly invasive services, once meeting with a racially concordant doctor. Our findings suggest black doctors could reduce the black-white male gap in cardiovascular mortality by 19 percent. (JEL I12, I14, C93)

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  • A more diverse health professions workforce contributes to reducing racial and ethnic health disparities.

    “A more diverse health professions workforce contributes to reducing racial and ethnic health disparities.1–4”

    From Dreams Realized: A Long-Term Program Evaluation of Three Summer Diversity Pipeline Programs (2021) · cites this paper as [4]

    The opening passage (page not provided) reports that Black men assigned to Black doctors were more likely to choose preventive services and suggests this could reduce the Black–white male cardiovascular mortality gap. The study supports a potential effect of physician diversity on a racial health disparity, but it does not establish that diversity across health professions reduces racial and ethnic disparities generally. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Alsan, M., Garrick, O., & Graziani, G.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Bridge Clinical Research, 333 Hegenberger Road, Suite 208, Oakland, CA 94621 (email: )
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
ORCID
Alsan, Marcella
Venue
American Economic Review
Publisher
American Economic Association
Published
2019-12-01
Volume
109
Issue
12
Pages
4071-4111
ISSN
0002-8282 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1257/aer.20181446
OpenAlex
W2848286189
Cited by
676
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 47 · 2025: 100 · 2024: 99 · 2023: 105 · 2022: 155 · 2021: 100 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 4
FWCI
132.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Economic Review (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
Keywords
physician workforce diversity, racial concordance, African American men, racial disparities in health, cardiovascular mortality, racism in healthcare, physician-patient interaction, Oakland

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