Why Bias Matters in Medicine: Qualitative Insights from Anonymous, Online Reports

Jessica P. Cerdeña; Tehreem Rehman; Rachel R. Hardeman

doi:10.1016/j.jnma.2019.10.004

Why Bias Matters in Medicine: Qualitative Insights from Anonymous, Online Reports

Jessica P. Cerdeña, Tehreem Rehman, Rachel R. Hardeman

Health Policy and Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Bias has been shown to influence the experience and mental health of healthcare professional trainees and faculty in academic medicine. The authors investigated the character and impact of self-reported bias experiences sustained in the academic medical arena that were submitted anonymously online to the website SystemicDisease.com. Method: This qualitative study analyzed 22 narratives submitted online to SystemicDisease.com between September 2015 and March 2017. Both deductive and inductive content analysis was performed, using a combination of a priori axial and open coding. Results: The most commonly reported biases occurred on the basis of race and/or gender. Multiple submitters indicated this bias had influenced or threatened their intended career trajectory. Healthcare professional trainees also expressed altruistic concerns toward other underrepresented individuals as well as toward patients from disadvantaged backgrounds. Conclusion: Racial and gender bias constitute a considerable barrier for trainees and professionals in academic medicine. Institutional awareness of these impacts can inform interventions designed to foster a more inclusive professional climate.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	6-14
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of the National Medical Association
Volume	112
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2019.10.004
State	Published - Feb 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Dr. Hardeman's role in this research was supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute , National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01HL085631 , R01HL085631-S2 , R01HL085631-S3 . Dr. Hardeman is also supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program Dr. Hardeman also gratefully acknowledges support from the Minnesota Population Center ( P2C HD041023 ) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) .

Funding Information:
Jessica Cerde?a is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars. Dr. Hardeman's role in this research was supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01HL085631, R01HL085631-S2, R01HL085631-S3. Dr. Hardeman is also supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program Dr. Hardeman also gratefully acknowledges support from the Minnesota Population Center (P2C HD041023) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 National Medical Association

Keywords

Academic medicine
Bias
Discrimination
Healthcare
Racism
Sexism

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title = "Why Bias Matters in Medicine: Qualitative Insights from Anonymous, Online Reports",

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Why Bias Matters in Medicine: Qualitative Insights from Anonymous, Online Reports

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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