Persistent health disparities by race may be related, in part, to anxiety about being confronted by negative racial stereotypes while receiving healthcare. Research has shown that stereotype threat may help to explain some of the as yet unaccounted for ethnic and socioeconomic differences in morbidity and mortality across the lifespan.
Stereotype threat, which is the threat of being judged by or confirming a negative stereotype about a group you belong to, has already been shown to influence the outcome of standardized testing, such as performance on the SAT (the most widely used college admissions exam).
Read this study done by the University of Southern Californian and learn more about how to be mindful of unintended byproducts of public health messaging. http://www.futurity.org/race-stereotypes-health-care-735192/
