German Physicians and Medical Students Do Not Represent the Population They Serve
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German Physicians and Medical Students Do Not Represent the Population They Serve. / Groene, Oana; Huelmann, Thorben; Hampe, Wolfgang; Emami, Pedram.
in: HEALTHCARE-BASEL, Jahrgang 11, Nr. 12, 1662, 06.06.2023.Publikationen: SCORING: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift/Zeitung › SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz › Forschung › Begutachtung
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TY - JOUR
T1 - German Physicians and Medical Students Do Not Represent the Population They Serve
AU - Groene, Oana
AU - Huelmann, Thorben
AU - Hampe, Wolfgang
AU - Emami, Pedram
PY - 2023/6/6
Y1 - 2023/6/6
N2 - Medical professionals who represent the communities they serve are in a better position to understand patients' social circumstances and communicate in a more patient-centered way. International studies show limited diversity and underrepresentation of certain social groups in the population of physicians and medical students. We designed an observational study to investigate the cultural and socio-economic diversity of physicians and medical applicants in comparison to the general population in Germany. We invited 15,195 physicians in Hamburg and 11,287 medical applicants in Germany to participate in an online survey between June and August 2022. The lower three quintiles of objective socio-economic background (SEB) were vastly underrepresented in all subsamples of the study and in particular amongst applicants and students admitted in Hamburg: 57.9% of physicians and 73.8% of medical students in Hamburg originate from the top quintile of SEB. The Turkish and Polish communities were particularly underrepresented in the group of physicians from Hamburg and medical applicants and students in Germany (p = 0.02; p < 0.001). In line with existing evidence, the vast majority of physicians and medical students come from the most affluent households when entering medical school. Widening participation strategies are needed to facilitate fairer access to the study of medicine in Germany.
AB - Medical professionals who represent the communities they serve are in a better position to understand patients' social circumstances and communicate in a more patient-centered way. International studies show limited diversity and underrepresentation of certain social groups in the population of physicians and medical students. We designed an observational study to investigate the cultural and socio-economic diversity of physicians and medical applicants in comparison to the general population in Germany. We invited 15,195 physicians in Hamburg and 11,287 medical applicants in Germany to participate in an online survey between June and August 2022. The lower three quintiles of objective socio-economic background (SEB) were vastly underrepresented in all subsamples of the study and in particular amongst applicants and students admitted in Hamburg: 57.9% of physicians and 73.8% of medical students in Hamburg originate from the top quintile of SEB. The Turkish and Polish communities were particularly underrepresented in the group of physicians from Hamburg and medical applicants and students in Germany (p = 0.02; p < 0.001). In line with existing evidence, the vast majority of physicians and medical students come from the most affluent households when entering medical school. Widening participation strategies are needed to facilitate fairer access to the study of medicine in Germany.
U2 - 10.3390/healthcare11121662
DO - 10.3390/healthcare11121662
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 37372780
VL - 11
JO - HEALTHCARE-BASEL
JF - HEALTHCARE-BASEL
SN - 2227-9032
IS - 12
M1 - 1662
ER -