Researchers from Claremont McKenna College Report New Studies and Findings in the Area of Psychology (Call Me Back: Examining Provider Biases Through Callback Rates and Responsiveness Psi): Psychology

2021 SEP 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Psychology & Psychiatry Daily -- Research findings on Psychology are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting out of Claremont, California, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “We conducted a phone-based field experiment to investigate the callback rate of psychologists. Providers (N = 903) in Los Angeles, California who were selected from a health maintenance organization insurance panel list were left voicemails by actors simulating patients of various backgrounds (i.e., race, gender, clinical diagnosis, and ethnic distinctiveness of name).”

Financial support for this research came from Claremont McKenna College’s Faculty Research Grant Funds.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Claremont McKenna College, “Findings indicated that 71.5% of providers did not return calls to prospective patients. There were no main effects of race and ethnicity on callback. However, ethnic distinctiveness of name moderated the effects of diagnosis. Providers were more responsive to depressed patients with ethnic names, but less responsive to patients with ethnic names and personality or substance abuse disorders. These findings are important because unresponsive providers and insurance companies that do not provide up-to-date panel listings can act as barriers to care, which can have deleterious consequences for help-seekers.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Advocacy recommendations and the importance of cultural competency are highlighted.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Call Me Back: Examining Provider Biases Through Callback Rates and Responsiveness Psi. The Counseling Psychologist, 2021;49(7):958-986. The Counseling Psychologist can be contacted at: Sage Publications Inc, 2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Wei-Chin Hwang, Claremont McKenna College, Clin Psychol, Claremont, CA 91711, United States. Additional authors for this research include Courtney P. Chan and Ken A. Fujimoto.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000211018148. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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