Provider Awareness of Implicit Bias and Evaluation of the Feasibility and Utility of a Perspective Taking Intervention

Purpose: The implicit bias of healthcare providers has been implicated as contributing to health disparities in the United States. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and utility of a perspective taking intervention, called “BE KIND”, on Licensed Independent Practitioner (LIP)s’ awareness of implicit bias in the Emergency Department of a community hospital.
Research Question: What is the awareness of implicit bias among LIPs working in an emergency room setting in a community hospital? After participation in an online educational intervention about implicit bias, what is the LIP’s evaluation of the feasibility and utility of the perspective taking intervention, BE KIND, in their environment?
Methods: A group of LIPs were recruited from an emergency department. The LIPs completed a pre-intervention survey followed by a brief education module about the importance of implicit bias and a perspective taking intervention intended to help LIPs take the patient’s perspective. After one month of using the perspective taking intervention, the LIPs then completed a post-intervention survey to evaluate the feasibility and utility of the perspective taking intervention in the emergency room.
Results: Seven of the 47 eligible LIPs participated in the project, giving a recruitment rate of 14.9%. The sample age ranged from 30-61 years and were predominantly male (71.4%), Caucasian (100%), and Medical Doctors (85.7%). No APRNS participated. Years of experience in their current role was 3-18 years. The self-reported awareness of implicit bias was no to low awareness (28.6%) and moderate awareness (71.4%). No participants reported high awareness or receiving any education about implicit bias.
Five participants reported using BE KIND and two did not use BE KIND. Of the five participants that used BE KIND, two reported using BE KIND once a week, one reported using BE KIND once a shift, and two reported using BE KIND with most patients. Four participants agreed they would use BE KIND in future practice and one participant strongly agreed to use BE KIND in future practice. The LIPs that used BE KIND in practice found it to be useable and feasible.
No relationships were found between demographic data and reported usage of BE KIND, perceived feasibility/usability of this perspective taking intervention, and intent to change practice.
Conclusions: The low power of the study resulted in inconclusive findings about relationships between demographic data and reported usage, perceived feasibility/usability, and intent to change practice. While BE KIND was not used by all participants, participants that used the intervention found it useful and feasible. A larger study sample could yield more data that would be helpful in determining if BE KIND is a viable tool that LIPs can use to raise awareness and reduce or remove implicit bias in their practice.