Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Primary Major
Nursing
Thesis Advisor
Andrea Boyle, RN, MSN, PhD
Abstract
Racial concordance is defined as a relationship in which a healthcare provider and patient share the same race. Racially concordant care has been, in previous research, associated with improved health outcomes, particularly in minority populations such as African-Americans Despite this, little is known about how African-American patients perceive racial concordance, and how important it is to their care. The focus of this research proposal is to determine the perceptions of African-American patients on racial concordance and racially concordant care, and how important they deem it to be to their care. The literature review delves into racial concordance and its presence in healthcare, as well as how racially concordant and culturally competent care appears in surgical contexts. This research proposal will employ a survey method in which 100 African-American patients up to one month post-operation will be questioned and interviewed on their level of satisfaction with their care whether or not they considered racial concordance impactful in their care. The survey will be administered through various formats in order to increase its accessibility, including paper questionnaires, phone interviews, and digital forms. Data will be divided into two categories: consideration of racial concordance and racially concordant care as important or unimportant, and descriptive statistics will be used to determine if African-American patients believe that racial concordance is necessary in their postoperative care.