An academic analysis of 1.8 million hospital births in Florida between 1992 and 2015 found that the Black infant mortality rate was cut in half when Black infants were delivered by Black physicians, reported The Washington Post.
"It is the first empirical evidence to describe the impact of the physician's race on an outcome such as infant mortality," Rachel Hardeman, PhD, one of the researchers and an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis, told the Post.
The researchers wrote that open questions remain about their findings, reported the Post, including:
- If physician race proxies for differences in physician practice behavior
- Which differences in practice are being influenced by the race of the physician
- What policymakers and those in the healthcare industry should do to ensure optimal care for all newborns
By race, Black infants have the highest infant mortality rate, at around 10.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to a white infant mortality rate of 4.6 per 1,000, according to the CDC.
Only 5 percent of physicians identify as Black and 4.9 percent of pediatricians do, reported the Post.
"We hope this study provides a basis for additional work that advances our understanding of inequality, its origins and how practitioners can work toward creating better and more-equitable birth outcomes," wrote the researchers.
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