• Alexander K Smith, Roger B Davis, and Eric L Krakauer.
• Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brookline, MA, USA. asmith7@bidmc.harvard.edu
• J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Nov 1; 22 (11): 157915821579-82.

BackgroundLittle is known about the quality of the patient-physician relationship for terminally ill African Americans.ObjectiveTo compare the quality of the patient-physician relationship between African-American and white patients and examine the extent to which relationship quality contributes to differences in advance care planning (ACP) and preferences for intensive life-sustaining treatment (LST).DesignCross sectional survey of 803 terminally ill African-American and white patients.MeasurementsPatient-reported quality of the patient-physician relationship (degree of trust, perceived respect, and joint decision making; skill in breaking bad news and listening; help in navigating the medical system), ACP, preferences for LST (cardiopulmonary resuscitation, major surgery, mechanical ventilation, and dialysis).ResultsThe quality of the patient-physician relationship was worse for African Americans than for white patients by all measures except trust. African Americans were less likely to have an ACP (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 0.66, 95%CI = 0.52-0.84), and were more likely to have a preference for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and dialysis (aRR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.03-1.58; aRR = 1.25, 95%CI = 1.07-1.47, respectively). Additional adjustment for the quality of the patient-physician relationship had no impact on the differences in ACP and treatment preferences.ConclusionsLower reported patient-physician relationship quality for African-American patients does not explain the observed differences between African Americans and whites in ACP and preferences for LST.

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