An expert explains the importance of answering seemingly unrelated demographic questions during medical appointments, revealing how this data contributes to research, health interventions, and understanding health disparities.
Photo by Antoni Shkraba Studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-doctor-checking-a-patient-s-blood-pressure-5215000/, I trust medicine and I have found that this has served me well in life. However, I have to confess that when my doctor asks me something seemingly ‘random’ question, I do wonder why that would ever matter.
For example, I have been with my partner for almost nine years and lived with him for almost seven years but we are not and don’t plan to be. When my doctor asks about my sexual activities and soon after asks if I’m married, my first instinct is to get defensive.However, one expert has explained why these questions occur and, well, I stand corrected., Jill Inderstrodt, an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University says: “For those of us who use demographic data collected during health care encounters to conduct research and design interventions, it does matter whether patients answer their doctor’s demographic questions.She goes on to explain that by answering these questions, you’re actually playing a part in shaping: “When you answer the demographic questions your doctor logs in your electronic health record, you’re doing more than disclosing personal information. You’re adding one small piece to a giant puzzle of data that allows researchers like me to see a bigger picture. “Your health information can help us understand who gets sick and why. It might even be used to design real health interventions.”Inderstrodt goes on to give real-life examples of this, saying: “For example, my colleagues and I in the Indiana Universityuse this data to train machine learning models that predict preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition of high blood pressure during pregnancy, before a mom gets really sick. “We could use only clinical data: diagnoses, labs and vital readings like blood pressure that contribute to the outcome of preeclampsia., Black moms are diagnosed at higher rates than their white counterparts. Research shows that race and racism can be major contributing factors to this disparity.”personally invested in my relationship status. Shocked.asks about your marital status. Your response might help researchers understand why single moms are more likely to have cardiovascular disease than their married counterparts. “And telling your optometrist your race is one of the only ways to learn what role race might play in patients using weight loss drugs experiencing vision loss.”
Doctor's Questions Demographic Data Health Research Health Interventions Preeclampsia
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