Everyone has biases, whether they know about it or not. From unconscious judgments on who we speak to, to who we decided to marry. These biases can perpetuate ideas we have regarding people who we just met. Unconscious bias is defined as “the bias in judgment and/or behavior that results from subtle cognitive processes (e.g., implicit attitudes and implicit stereotypes) that often operate at a level below conscious awareness and without intentional control.” This leads to a whole host of issues that come from societal expectations and judgments that people make in the first few moments in which they meet. These issues can become increasingly troublesome when it comes to the world of health care. 

Researchers have said that many healthcare providers have an unconscious bias regarding race, ethnicity, gender, sex, and/or sexual orientation. Healthcare providers are first and foremost there to assist, treat, care, and “first do no harm”. These biases can create difficulties in trying to assist patients. People go to these medical providers for the best possible care and when their doctors have preconceived notions about them, it can limit their treatment and care. 

Doctors are less likely to give nonverbal and verbal communication when interacting with black patients than when interacting with white patients. This can ultimately lead to limiting life-saving methods and can lead to death in patients. These biases can happen at various levels of the healthcare chain; people who look to be impoverished are more likely to wait longer when in waiting rooms than those who look to be in a higher socioeconomic bracket. Unconscious biases also come into play when in regards to gender. Heart disease is the number one killer in women and they are 40% less likely to get treatment from their primary health care provider than men. Women are asked to take preventive actions while men are more likely to get medications and direct treatments. These various biases are ones that many professionals don't even recognize and are considered to be natural; only when a spotlight is shined on their actions can they see how their choices impact their patients. Even if the bias is unconsciousness, it has extremely dangerous effects that can lead to disability, disease, or even death. 

There are some methods that healthcare administrators and policies that are being put into place that are trying to mitigate unconscious biases. Many workplaces now require employees and management to go through bias awareness training to make sure they are aware. When people become aware of their biases they can do more to change the way they speak and interact with people, it allows them to be conscious of the effects that their bias may have. Some methods have people talking about their first judgments of people in photos and telling them that these stereotypes are toxic and should be looked at carefully. 

The first step into mitigating the effects that the unconscious bias can have is realizing that every person has one. Figuring out that you have a bias can lead to retrospective thinking that can at least show you where you stand when it comes to people and issues. Although it may be a long time until the unconscious biases burden is mitigated, people can always take the first step and try to be the change that they want to see. People go to health care providers to leave feeling healthy and safe; knowing that your health staff sees you as an individual rather than a stereotype of statistic can create all the difference. 

References:

http://www.ihi.org/communities/blogs/how-to-reduce-implicit-bias

https://www.today.com/health/gender-bias-health-care-may-be-harming-women-s-health-t133583

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/targeting-unconscious-bias-in-health-care/