University Honors

Speaking up during doctor's appointments can be challenging for many people, especially for marginalized populations like the African American, Black, and Caribbean (ABC) population. However, it is a vital skill that could influence how patients make health decisions. According to a 2022 report by the California Healthcare Foundation, more than one in four Black Californians avoid care due to concerns of being treated unfairly.1 This leads to many Black patients refraining from asking questions, in fear that they will be judged or treated poorly. This highlights a significant issue, since patients' inability to advocate for themselves may result in poorer health outcomes and prolonged recovery time. Although there are websites that provide general tips on self-advocacy, an interactive resource is still lacking. To fill this gap, this project aims to put together a workbook that can assist Black patients in navigating patient-physician interactions. By incorporating principles from the book Smith's Patient-Centered Interviewing2, the workbook will contain worksheets that can guide patients to understand their healthcare values and better prepare for their healthcare visits. The completed workbook will be distributed to patients who participated in an experimental learning community as part of a study by the University of Riverside Program in Medical Education (PRIME)3 on self-advocacy in Black patients in the Inland Empire, California. With this resource, patients will feel more confident advocating for themselves by applying skills gained from the learning intervention in the clinical setting. The effectiveness will then be measured via participant satisfaction metrics conducted during 3- and 6-months follow-ups with patients in focus groups.