One Expert Explains Why Doctors Ask Invasive Questions

I am no conspiracy theorist; I trust doctors, I trust medicine and I have found that this has served me well in life. However, I have to confess that when my doctor asks me something seemingly ‘random’ question, I do wonder why that would ever matter.

For example, I have been with my partner for almost nine years and lived with him for almost seven years but we are not married and don’t plan to be. When my doctor asks about my sexual activities and soon after asks if I’m married, my first instinct is to get defensive.

What can I say? I’m tired of being asked when we will marry.

However, one expert has explained why these questions occur and, well, I stand corrected.

Writing for The Conversation, Jill Inderstrodt, an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University says: “For those of us who use demographic data collected during health care encounters to conduct research and design interventions, it does matter whether patients answer their doctor’s demographic questions.

“But as a patient myself, I can see how these questions might seem unnecessary and even invasive.”

She goes on to explain that by answering these questions, you’re actually playing a part in shaping Public Health: “When you answer the demographic questions your doctor logs in your electronic health record, you’re doing more than disclosing personal information. You’re adding one small piece to a giant puzzle of data that allows researchers like me to see a bigger picture.

“Your health information can help us understand who gets sick and why. It might even be used to design real health interventions.”

Pretty beautiful, actually.

Inderstrodt goes on to give real-life examples of this, saying: “For example, my colleagues and I in the Indiana University Better AI for a Strong Rural Maternal and Child Health Environment Lab use this data to train machine learning models that predict preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition of high blood pressure during pregnancy, before a mom gets really sick.

“We could use only clinical data: diagnoses, labs and vital readings like blood pressure that contribute to the outcome of preeclampsia.

“But for conditions like preeclampsia, Black moms are diagnosed at higher rates than their white counterparts. Research shows that race and racism can be major contributing factors to this disparity.”

Uh, so, my doctor isn’t personally invested in my relationship status. Shocked.

Inderstrodt explains: “This is why your cardiologist asks about your marital status. Your response might help researchers understand why single moms are more likely to have cardiovascular disease than their married counterparts.

“And telling your optometrist your race is one of the only ways to learn what role race might play in patients using weight loss drugs experiencing vision loss.”