Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of "Other" Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection

Aimee R Eden; Melina K Taylor; Ting Wang; Emmeline Ha

doi:10.3122/jabfm.2022.05.220024

Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of "Other" Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection

J Am Board Fam Med. 2022 Oct 18;35(5):1030-1031. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2022.05.220024.

Authors

Aimee R Eden¹, Melina K Taylor², Ting Wang², Emmeline Ha²

Affiliations

¹ From American Board of Family Medicine, Lexington, KY (ARE, MKT, TW); Center for Professionalism & Value in Health Care, Washington, DC (ARE, EH); Section of Family Medicine, The GW Medical Faculty Associates, Washington, DC (EH). aeden@theabfm.org aimee.eden@ahrq.hhs.gov aimeeeden@gmail.com.
² From American Board of Family Medicine, Lexington, KY (ARE, MKT, TW); Center for Professionalism & Value in Health Care, Washington, DC (ARE, EH); Section of Family Medicine, The GW Medical Faculty Associates, Washington, DC (EH).

PMID: 36257697
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2022.05.220024

Abstract

Family physicians who report their race as "Other" in a single best option question find the existing categories and forced choice of one category to be problematic. Our analysis of open-text responses in the "Other" race category supports a modification in the way these data are collected to provide more accurate and meaningful ways to understand the workforce and move toward more diverse, equitable, and inclusive policies in family medicine.

Keywords: Cultural Diversity; Data Collection; Family Medicine; Family Physicians; Race; Workforce.

MeSH terms

Cultural Diversity*
Data Collection
Family Practice
Humans
Physicians, Family*
Workforce