Personal Biases In Healthcare

Introduction: Cultures, social, ethnicity, English proficiency are factors that my significantly affect the quality of healthcare. Patient’s perspective, values, beliefs and behavior are highly influenced by the sociocultural background pf the patient (1-5). These factors can affect dealing with patient’s symptoms, seeking care, pain toleration, care adherence, preventive measure, and health care expectations.

The main purpose of this article was to unexamined biases, to see how much they contribute as well as to address ethnic and racial in health care disparities. Biases can be referred to as favoritism, a favor of one and against another, very systematic and differing by racial and ethnic groups. Many psychologist has turned their focus and studies on common biases, which biases influence medical decisions and interaction.

The Institute of Medicine’s Report on Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial/Ethical Disparities in Health Care states that cultural bias is one contributor to racial and ethnic minorities having higher rates of poor health outcomes than Whites in the case of disease; even when income, employment

We must not allow any personal views that you hold about service user to prejudice our assessment of their needs, delay or restrict their access to care. This includes our view about a patient's age, color, culture, disability, ethnic or national origin, gender, lifestyle, marital or parental status, race, religion or beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, or social or economic status.

One of the major groups of people who can make this happen is the hospital staff. They have been accustomed to “going with the flow” and not necessarily informing its’ patients on upcoming dilemmas or situations that can be preventable within their facility. With the nonwhite population of the United States steadily growing increasing the number of physicians who are of various ethnicities could potentially decrease some disparities. Physicians who are nonwhite provide a “disproportionate share of care to underserved populations” ((Marrast, Zallman, Woolhandler, Bor, & McCormick, 2014). With more physicians of color providing care to people of the same ethnicity a level of trust should be reached thus improving patients care practices at home.

When attempting to understand health care disparity, one must first also understand race. As race applies to health care inequity, Williams and Sternthal (2010) suggested that race is not purely biological but also a social classification system created by the hegemonic class. As such, favorable traits are those attributable to whites, thus creating an atmosphere predisposed to prejudices. In a health care setting where providers rely on swift judgment and scientific data to arrive at decisions, culturally ingrained norms are bound to influence attitudes

The health care provider setting teams can have norms such as, they can try to achieve their goal by avoiding conflict, develop trust and respect for others in the team, and form friendship. It is important to have trust for everyone within a team or group, because that can help the team to achieve their goal. The team members need to trust their teammates and can successfully perform their duty to achieve a team’s goal. I believe one should always respect everyone regardless of their age, gender, and ethnicity. Because respecting other can help build a healthy relationship and having a healthy relationship within a team or organizational is a key to provide good and effective

Health care providers should remain aware of the importance of personal dignity in the health care industry. This is especially true when caring for individuals with cultural differences.

Facts are statements that are indisputably true. Truthful statements are authentic because they are widely accepted to be accurate and fit reality. When answering the question “given access to the same facts , how is it possible that there can be disagreements between experts in a discipline?”, one must consider the definition of an expert. For the sake of this paper I am defining an expert as someone who excels in their field , and constantly evolves their knowledge as their field progresses. I believe that disagreements between experts when presented with the same facts, occur because of bias. Bias is a sway towards one side or view of a situation or statement. Therefore I ask , how does someone’s personal bias affect their interpretation

ii. Unconscious physician bias. Another theme in the reading that related back to class was the unconscious biases of doctors influence their interactions with patients, with consequences for patient outcomes. These unconscious biases affect interaction through the doctor’s communication. Establishing a basic understanding of treatment and diagnosis can foster better patient outcomes. An example of unconscious physician bias was Abraham 's focus on former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Sullivan, in chapter eight. Dr. Sullivan’s campaign focused on the individual choice in adopting healthy lifestyle choices from diet to exercise. Skipping over racial disparities, the unconscious bias inferred through his words was that he considered the patient to blame whenever they fell ill.

Núñez (2000) states that culture molds the beliefs and behaviors of individuals and influences what they deem suitable (p. 1072). These preconceived beliefs, or biases, can have a negative effect when applied in healthcare situations. Studies show that biased care by healthcare professionals is directly associated with health inequity (Nazione, 2015, p. 954). It is estimated that the economy spends $300 billion annually due to health inequity and health disparities (Wong, Laveist, & Sharfstein, 2015, p. 1417). It is our responsibility as advanced practice nurses that we advocate for our patients to improve their outcomes and implement interventions to help others reduce bias as well.

Everyone has personal biases, such as a favorite color or type of car they dislike. These biases/ stereotypes/ prejudices have an impact on our values and the way we interact with the world around us. One, especially in a health care field, do what they can to find out these biases/ stereotypes/ prejudices so that they can check them at the door. You must be honest with yourself

I appreciate you including stereotyping as one of the issues of dissonance in care and collaboration. Frequently, doctors’ analyses and orders are valued over nurses because of their title alone. “These stereotypes help create ideas about a profession’s worth known as “disparity diversity” (Edmondson & Roloff), eroding mutual respect” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011, p. 20). Nurses can break these stereotypes by participating in core competencies that help evaluate and break down culture and stereotypes, and by establishing a solid nurse-patient relationship as you stated Judith. I have found in practice that my views were valued more when I developed a good relationship with the patient, compared

Although prejudice is unfavorable and I definitely am not endorsing it, I believe everyone holds some degree of prejudice whether it be conscious or unconscious, so in my opinion it is best for the physician to show grace to the patient in this situation and move past such comments. Having taken Christian Spirituality in Health Care I have also learned the profound impact that spirituality of any kind can have on patient outcomes. I am sure both doctors are equally qualified and equipped to care for this patient, but the patient’s own bias my result in him receiving better care from the Baptist physician. Having a common faith background may allow him to be more vulnerable and share more information with the Baptist doctor, and it may open

For instance, “Hispanic women are more likely to be dissatisfied if they feel they have been treated badly by providers and staff and if they do not trust doctors” (Guendelman, Wagner 118). If the patient does not feel a sense of hospitality and see a welcoming smile, it discourages the patient to visit the physician because they feel they are not getting the right medical attention, and tend to be sicker. In addition, “the sicker individual risk exposure to more insults, and this leads them to pull back from the health care system” (119). In a physician/ patient relationship there needs to be a balance between actually caring and giving your patients the attention and satisfaction that they deserve. Some physicians take advantage of their patient’s vulnerability of being sick by pushing them aside, and worrying more about the fastest way to make money. However, the physician then loses another patient because of greed.