Racism, Mental Health, Healthcare Provider Trust, and Medication Adherence Among Black Patients in Safety-Net Primary Care

There has been a growing research focus on social determinants to health disparities in general and medication adherence more specifically in low-income Black populations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether prior experiences of racism among Black patients in safety-net primary care indirectly predicts poor medication adherence through increased mental health symptoms and low healthcare provider trust. Two competing models were run whereby mental health leads to provider trust or provider trust leads to mental health in this multiple mediational chain. A group of 134 Black patients (76 men, average age 45.39 years) in a safety-net primary care clinic completed measures of these constructs. Results revealed that in the first model, mental health mediated the relationship between racism and provider trust, and provider trust mediated the relationship between mental health and medication adherence. All paths within this model were statistically significant, except the path between provider trust and medication adherence which approached significance. In the second model, provider trust and mental health significantly mediated the relationship between racism and medication adherence, and all direct and indirect paths were statistically significant, though the path between provider trust and medication adherence was omitted. These results may serve as catalysts to assess and attempt to mitigate specific minority-based stressors and associated outcomes within safety-net primary care settings.