Study on Black Newborn Mortality Rates Reexamined for Key Omission

New analysis finds that controlling for very low birth weight nullifies previous claims of racial concordance in neonatal care.

A 2020 study suggested black newborns had better survival rates with black doctors, but a new analysis challenges this conclusion.
Researchers George Borjas and Robert VerBruggen found that the original study did not account for very low birth weight, a crucial factor in neonatal mortality.
Their reanalysis shows no significant difference in mortality rates when controlling for birth weight, questioning the impact of doctor-patient racial concordance.
The findings suggest that improving neonatal outcomes for black infants relies more on addressing low birth weight issues than on the race of their physicians.
The debate continues as scholars call for further research into the racial mortality gap and its contributing factors.