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Providing medical care to diverse populations: findings from a follow-up survey of Connecticut physicians.

OBJECTIVE
To compare physicians' perceptions of challenges to providing medical care to racially, ethnically, and culturallydiverse patients in Connecticut from 2009 and 2011.


METHODS
Eight hundred forty-six practicing physicians in Connecticut representing 17 specialty areas completed a brief self-administered mail survey in the spring of 2009 (N=321) and 2011 (N=525).


RESULTS
Survey responses in both study waves consistently showed that manyphysicians do not employbest practices for communicating with patients with limited English proficiency and do not tailor their discussions of health and health behavior to individual patients in a way that is culturally sensitive. However, substantial improvement in the numbers of physicians who had taken CME in managing patients from diverse backgrounds was observed in 2011 relative to 2009. Those participating in Care in Context in Care (CIC), a CSMS initiative to improve physician competence in providing culturallyappropriate care, appeared to be more sensitive to the needs of diverse patients.


CONCLUSION
Findings from these studies suggest avenues for improving physicians' ability to provide culturally appropriate medical care.