Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Implicit Bias Skill Building Sessions for Maternal Health Care...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare disparities
• Medical education
• Bias mitigation

Background:

• Maternal mortality and morbidity in the US exhibit significant disparities linked to bias.
• Implicit bias training is increasingly mandated but often lacks evaluation.
• Evidence-based bias mitigation strategies are underutilized in clinical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate an implicit bias skill-building training program.
• To assess the impact of training on bias awareness and mitigation behaviors.
• To address the gap in evaluating bias training effectiveness in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A quasiexperimental, multimethod evaluation was employed.
• Assessed reach, participant satisfaction, knowledge, and behavioral changes.
• Utilized surveys and qualitative data from facilitators for comprehensive assessment.

Main Results:

• Didactic implicit bias training increased awareness of personal and others' biases.
• Combined didactic and skill-building sessions led to greater use of mitigation strategies.
• Participants found the training relevant and reported motivation for behavioral change.

Conclusions:

• Skill-building activities enhance the impact of implicit bias training.
• Integrating skill-building is valuable for maximizing training effectiveness.
• This approach holds potential for improving healthcare equity.