Implicit Racial Bias Attitudes and Mitigation in Neonatal Nurse Practitioners: A Quality Improvement Project

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Nursing Practice
• Bias Mitigation

Background:

• Implicit bias can affect clinical decision-making in healthcare.
• Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) require high levels of unbiased care.
• Educating healthcare professionals on implicit bias is crucial for equitable patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Implicit Bias Recognition and Management (IBRM) teaching approach.
• To assess the impact of IBRM education on attitudes toward implicit bias among neonatal nurse practitioners.
• To determine if improvements in implicit bias attitudes are sustained over time.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal quasi-experimental design was employed.
• Surveys using a modified Attitudes Toward Implicit Bias Instrument (ATIBI) were administered at baseline, immediately post-education, and 4 weeks later.
• Thirty-six neonatal nurse practitioners in a Midwest urban children's hospital NICU participated.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant improvement in ATIBI scores was observed post-education (p < .001).
• The positive changes in scores were maintained at the 4-week follow-up assessment (p = .744).
• The IBRM intervention demonstrated a large effect size (partial η² = 0.496).

Conclusions:

• The IBRM teaching approach effectively improved neonatal nurse practitioners' attitudes toward implicit bias.
• The educational intervention led to sustained improvements in implicit bias recognition and management.
• IBRM is a viable strategy for enhancing unbiased care in neonatal nursing.