271 Unintentional discrimination against patients with a migration background: the role of humanization in the management of mental health care in general practice

OP 15: Exclusion and Discrimmination 1, B308 (FCSH), September 3, 2025, 17:00 - 18:00 Aims Populations with a migration background (MB) have a higher prevalence?of mental health problems and unmet medical needs compared to their native counterparts. Yet, they remain underrepresented in mental health care services. One potential explanation is implicit bias by healthcare providers, such as general practitioners (GPs). They may unintentionally discriminate against migrant patients, particularly when they lack humanization. To date, no experimental study has investigated this hypothesis. This paper explores the role of humanization and moderating effect of the individual (e.g. age and ethnicity), interpersonal (e.g. healthcare provider trust), and organisational (e.g. perceived workload) factors on general practitioners (GPs) differential decision-making regarding diagnosis, treatment, and referral for a depressed patient with or without a MB. Methods A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted with Belgian GPs (N = 797) who received video-vignettes depicting either a native or a migrant patient with depression. Half received a text that humanized the patient by providing more details about the patient’s life story. GPs’ decisions on diagnosis, treatment and referral were analysed using ANOVA, along with time spent on each video and text. Results GPs perceived the symptoms of the patient with a MB as less severe?(F = 7.68, p < 0.01) and were less likely to prescribe combined medical and non-medical treatments (F = 11.55, p < 0.001). Humanization had a limited impact on mitigating these differences, though GPs spent more time on humanized vignettes, especially for the migrant patient. Additionally, biases were exacerbated by factors such as the GP’s age, perceived workload and the belief that the patient was exaggerating distress. Conclusions These findings indicated that ethnic disparities in the management of depression persist in primary care, and humanization alone may not be sufficient to reduce these biases.