{"id":4936,"date":"2022-03-10T22:22:47","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T22:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/?p=4911"},"modified":"2023-05-02T00:46:48","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T00:46:48","slug":"implicit-bias-in-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/nurse-life\/implicit-bias-in-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Implicit Bias and How Does It Impact Healthcare?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Social media has helped shed light on the biases and racism in nursing. As more influencers use their platforms to call out racism, promote diversity within the nursing profession, decrease racial health disparities, and promote health equity,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> implicit bias <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is a phrase that you may hear come up in conversation. Patients should always receive good care, regardless of their characteristics, identities, or traits. Unfortunately, certain implicit biases exist in healthcare, and they can negatively affect patient care.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Implicit bias refers to a person&#8217;s unconscious prejudice about another thing, group, or person. Implicit bias can affect a person&#8217;s actions without them knowing. So how does implicit bias affect healthcare?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is Implicit Bias in Healthcare?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everyone is capable of implicit bias, even healthcare workers. It develops early in life, stemming from the repeated reinforcement of stereotypes. Other factors also contribute to implicit bias, such as messages that you&#8217;ve been exposed to through the media that define groups of people or societal norms of varying representations of people. For example, society may define what femininity or masculinity should look like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Implicit bias can shape the way healthcare professionals interact with patients. Because implicit bias is subconscious, it can find its way into patient-provider communication. Patients may be subjected to implicit bias based on several factors:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Race<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ethnicity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gender<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Education level<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gender identity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Socioeconomic status<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Disability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Age<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Insurance status<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The healthcare facility&#8217;s location can also influence patient care and increase implicit bias. For example, if the facility is in a &#8220;bad or poor&#8221; neighborhood, staff may have a preconceived perception of the patients who present to the facility. Healthcare decisions and treatment plans may be based just as much on who a person is as on the symptoms they present. This is dangerous in healthcare because these decisions can mean life or death.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6535 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/national-cancer-institute-eRExodEMiOE-unsplash-e1677599670665.jpg\" alt=\"Overcoming Implicit Bias\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Examples of Implicit Bias in Healthcare<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Implicit bias can lead to false assumptions, which cause negative outcomes. Evidence <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">shows<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that implicit bias leads to negative outcomes for minority groups. Communities and populations of people who are already vulnerable or disadvantaged suffer the most:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Minorities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Immigrants<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Poor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Elderly<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Women<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Children<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Disabled<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">LGTBQIA+<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those with low health literacy<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Implicit bias is one possible cause of health disparities, such as racial healthcare disparities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Examples of unconscious bias leading to health disparities include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">White <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aamc.org\/news-insights\/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">medical trainees<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> believed that Black people weren&#8217;t as sensitive to pain as white people &amp; were less likely to treat Black people&#8217;s pain appropriately<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Assuming low-income patients are less likely to adhere to their treatment plans or less intelligent<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pregnant women facing discrimination based on their ethnicity or socioeconomic background<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Assuming that people who do not identify as CISgendered and heterosexual are more likely to engage in risky behaviors<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some examples of how implicit bias can negatively impact health outcomes include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nonwhite patients are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-analgesia-race\/nonwhite-patients-get-less-pain-relief-in-u-s-emergency-rooms-idUSKCN1TX2IJ\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">less likely to be prescribed pain medications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black people are less likely to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/10.1161\/JAHA.119.014706\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">receive treatment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for cardiovascular disease<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black women most likely to die from<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.komen.org\/blog\/black-women-in-us-most-likely-to-die-from-breast-cancer\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> breast cancer<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Physicians are less likely to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acc.org\/latest-in-cardiology\/articles\/2020\/01\/01\/24\/42https:\/\/www.acc.org\/latest-in-cardiology\/articles\/2020\/01\/01\/24\/42\/cover-story-implicit-bias-recognizing-the-unconscious-barriers-to-quality-care-and-diversity-in-medicine\/cover-story-implicit-bias-recognizing-the-unconscious-barriers-to-quality-care-and-diversity-in-medicine\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">treat <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">suicidal ideation in elderly patients, although those 85 and older have the second-highest rate of suicide of any age group<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Data has shown over time persisting disparities in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/coronavirus-covid-19\/issue-brief\/covid-19-cases-and-deaths-by-race-ethnicity-current-data-and-changes-over-time\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">COVID-19<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> cases for Hispanic people and deaths for Black people<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6538 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/Surgical-Tech4-Resized-scaled-e1677600148178.jpg\" alt=\"Surgical Tech\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>How to Overcome Implicit Bias<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once you&#8217;re aware of your biases, you can start working towards overcoming them. Recognize the stereotypical thoughts and assumptions and train yourself to focus on the patient as your primary source of information. Here are ways to overcome bias:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"padding-left: 30px\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recognize stereotypical thinking<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Replace biases and assumptions and get to know the patient<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evaluate the racial climate of your job or unit by looking at shared perceptions amongst the staff<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Communicate the need to foster diversity of the unit or facility<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Call out and report discrimination, racism, and unfair treatment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Work on meeting equity-specific goals in patient care and health outcomes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recognize situations that magnify stereotypes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Seek out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/industry-trends\/cultural-competence-in-healthcare-why-its-important\/\">cultural competence<\/a> training<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ask for training on implicit biases, cultural competence, diversity, and health equity<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Overcoming biases is a lifelong process. Start with yourself and then move to your unit, and eventually the entire facility. Educate yourself to have a basic understanding of your patient&#8217;s cultures, struggles, and health disparities. Remember that each patient is an individual, and avoid placing stereotypes on your patients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Discover how to provide culturally competent care to ensure all patients feel safe and heard in our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/industry-trends\/cultural-competence-in-healthcare-why-its-important\/\">Cultural Competence in Healthcare and Why It&#8217;s Important<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how a person&#8217;s unconscious prejudice can affect patient care and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":6534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,3,110,7],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-4936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nurse-life","category-career-resources","category-industry-trends","category-inspiration","tag-allhcp"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/cdc-vt7iAyiwpf0-unsplash-e1677599722898.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}