Defeating Unconscious Bias: The Role of a Structured, Reflective, and Interactive Workshop

Abstract

Background Unconscious or implicit biases are universal and detrimental to health care and the learning environment but can be corrected. Historical interventions used the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which may have limitations. Objective We determined the efficacy of an implicit bias training without using the IAT. Methods From April 2019 to June 2020, a 90-minute educational workshop was attended by students, residents, and faculty. The curriculum included an interactive unconscious biases presentation, videoclips using vignettes to demonstrate workplace impact of unconscious biases with strategies to counter, and reflective group discussions. The evaluation included pre-and postintervention surveys. Participants were shown images of 5 individuals and recorded first impressions regarding trustworthiness and presumed profession to unmask implicit bias. Results Of approximately 273 participants, 181 were given the survey, of which 103 (57%) completed it with significant increases from pre-to postintervention assessments for perception scores (28.87 [SEM 0.585] vs 32.73 [0.576], P<001) and knowledge scores (5.68 [0.191] vs 7.22 [0.157], P