A Tool to Assess Bias, Racism, and Allyship in the Healthcare Learning Environment

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professions Training
• Social Determinants of Health

Background:

• Clinical training for healthcare students often neglects crucial social issues such as bias and allyship.
• Existing assessments may not adequately capture student perceptions of these social dynamics within their learning environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel survey instrument for assessing healthcare students' perceptions of bias, racism, and allyship.
• To evaluate the tool's applicability across diverse healthcare disciplines and educational settings.

Main Methods:

• A new assessment tool was developed, adapting a validated scale from the John Hopkins Learning Environment Survey (JHLES).
• The survey was administered across three distinct healthcare institutions (medicine, dentistry, nursing), collecting 212 responses.
• Perceptions of bias, racism, and allyship were measured within the students' learning environments.

Main Results:

• Non-minority students reported more positive perceptions of equitable opportunities, freedom of speech regarding bias, and overall learning environment quality.
• Male students expressed greater comfort in addressing racial bias and higher feelings of acceptance compared to female students.
• Minor differences were observed based on institution, minority status, gender, and class year.

Conclusions:

• A relevant and applicable survey tool for assessing bias and racism in medical education was successfully developed and implemented.
• The tool demonstrates utility across varied healthcare fields, providing a baseline for institutional assessment of learning environments.
• Findings underscore the need to address disparities in student experiences related to bias and allyship in healthcare education.