Recognising and managing bias and prejudice in healthcare

Extract from article:

Learning objectives

By reading this article, you will be able to:

•Recognise the manifestations and impact of bias, prejudice and racism in healthcare.

•Explain the neuropsychology of stereotypes, prejudice and bias.

•Implement best practices for designing skills-based training curricula to address bias and microaggressions.

•Respond to organisational mandates and apply recommended practices, whilst being prepared for potential pitfalls and challenges of such initiatives.

Key points

•Bias, prejudice and racism are global phenomena that affect health outcomes and health professionals.

•Bias has cognitive, affective and behavioural components.

•Training aims to raise awareness, explore others' perspectives and teach bias reduction strategies.

•The design of a bias training programme should use needs assessment, established conceptual frameworks and rigorous assessment.

•Longitudinal skills-based curricula are probably most effective for mitigating the effects of sustained bias.