Interprofessional Debrief on Racism, Equity, and Microaggressions (I-DREAM): Using Simulation to Change Awareness,...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Health Equity
• Diversity and Inclusion

Background:

• Addressing bias in healthcare is crucial for equitable patient care.
• Effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) education is essential to combat workplace bias.
• Interprofessional training programs can enhance clinicians' understanding of complex issues like racism and microaggressions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of interprofessional, simulation-based DEI training.
• To assess improvements in clinicians' awareness, attitudes, and abilities concerning bias, racism, inclusion, microaggressions, and equity.
• To determine the impact of training on the delivery of language-equitable care.

Main Methods:

• The Interprofessional Debrief on Racism, Equity, and Microaggressions (I-DREAM) training was implemented from October 2021 to June 2022.
• Participants engaged in small group debriefings of simulated biased interactions.
• Surveys assessed awareness, attitudes, and confidence pre-training, post-training, and at 3-month follow-up. Interpreter service usage was also monitored.

Main Results:

• 1,811 clinicians completed the I-DREAM training.
• Post-training, participants reported significantly higher rates of witnessing (83% vs 60%) and experiencing (66% vs 37%) bias events.
• Confidence in responding to bias events increased significantly (73% vs 45%) and was sustained at 3 months (72%).
• Use of language interpretation services increased notably during the training period.

Conclusions:

• The I-DREAM training effectively enhanced clinicians' awareness of workplace bias.
• Simulation-based DEI education improved clinicians' confidence in addressing bias and microaggressions.
• The training was associated with improved delivery of language-equitable care.