Design and pilot test of an implicit bias mitigation curriculum for clinicians

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Health Disparities Research
• Medical Training

Background:

• Implicit racial bias (IB) among clinicians can negatively impact care quality and health outcomes for Black patients.
• Existing educational interventions to mitigate clinician IB lack robust evidence of effectiveness.
• The REACHing Equity curriculum was developed to address this gap in evidence-based training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the acceptability and feasibility of the evidence-based clinician IB curriculum, REACHing Equity.
• To evaluate clinician self-efficacy in mitigating IB after participation in the REACHing Equity program.

Main Methods:

• An uncontrolled, one-arm pilot trial was conducted with healthcare providers.
• The REACHing Equity curriculum was delivered virtually over 7-9 weeks in three interactive sessions.
• Participants completed pre- and post-intervention evaluation surveys assessing knowledge, awareness, skills, and self-efficacy regarding IB.

Main Results:

• 37 clinicians participated, with high attendance rates (90% average per session).
• Most participants agreed the curriculum met its objectives and equipped them to mitigate IB.
• Self-reported self-efficacy for mitigating IB significantly increased post-curriculum.

Conclusions:

• The REACHing Equity intervention is feasible and acceptable for clinician training in mitigating implicit racial bias.
• Further research should focus on objective outcome measures and broader dissemination.
• Refinement of the curriculum and testing its impact on clinical outcomes are recommended.