Passage The Term "Health Disparities" Describes a Systematic Incidence of Poorer

Passage
The term "health disparities" describes a systematic incidence of poorer health outcomes for groups that have traditionally experienced social disadvantage (eg, racial and ethnic minorities, lower-income individuals, women) as compared to more advantaged groups (eg, whites, higher-income individuals, men) .  These health disparities are driven by unequal access to health care services and health insurance due to prejudice and discrimination on the part of health care providers and the overall system, and extensive research has focused on these issues.Recent research suggests that another factor might explain health disparities: stereotype threat on the part of the patient.  Stereotype threat can be evoked by verbal or nonverbal cues from health care professionals, such as a physician's use of confusing medical jargon (the standardized language medical personnel use to communicate among themselves) or a nurse's body language while discussing the risks of obesity and alcohol use.  Once triggered, stereotype threat may result in behaviors that compromise one's own health.  For example, a patient may withhold information or feel compelled to describe health-related behaviors in a positive light.  Similarly, if the interaction arouses anxiety, a patient may be less likely to remember the physician's instructions or might dismiss a physician's advice as biased.Stereotype threat can be reduced through training programs that improve employees' communication skills.  Some hospitals in large urban areas have implemented the use of cultural liaisons, individuals who are able to bridge the gap between a minority patient's cultural beliefs and Western medicine.  Cultural liaisons are often present during the nonsensitive portions of the doctor's appointment, and studies suggest they may help to reduce stereotype threat in patients.
Adapted from J. Aronson, D. Burgess, S. M. Phelan, and L. Juarez (C) 2013 American Public Health Association
-Which of the following would most directly test the hypothesis that cognition plays a role in physicians' prejudice?

A) Using an implicit association test to determine if physicians have negative biases toward certain patients
B) Recording physicians' physiological responses (pupil dilation, skin conductance) while interacting with different patients
C) Surveying patients immediately after a doctor's appointment on the quality of their interaction with their physician
D) Observing and recording the number of negative interactions between physicians and their patients

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