Abstract

Research has shown that health care provider bias negatively impacts the provider-patient relationship and health outcomes. Studies have identified strategies effective at reducing bias, but there is minimal research implementing these strategies in health care settings, and little is known about effective curricular interventions to teach strategies to medical students. The purpose of the present study was to explore medical students’ experiences implementing evidence-based bias reduction strategies with their patients after participating in a bias reduction didactic. The study aimed to 1) determine which bias-reduction strategies medical students most frequently used, and 2) explore student perceptions of the effects of strategy implementation on the medical encounter. Investigators qualitatively analyzed responses to open-ended questions about medical students’ experiences implementing evidence-based bias reduction strategies with their patients. Two coders independently reviewed all responses, identified themes, developed codebooks, and double coded student responses. Coders identified three overarching categories of student-perceived implications of strategy implementation: implications for the provider, implications for the patient, and implications for the provider-patient interaction. Each category comprised multiple themes. Themes most frequently described by the students included the patient feeling more supported/psychologically safe, the student experiencing greater empathy for the patient, and an improvement in connection/rapport with the patient. Study limitations and the implications of findings to inform future research, instrument development, and bias-reduction curricular interventions with medical students are discussed.

LLU Discipline

Psychology

Department

Psychology

School

School of Behavioral Health

First Advisor

Patricia M. Flynn

Second Advisor

Maya Boustani

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Degree Level

Psych.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2022

Date (Title Page)

9-2022

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Empathy; Students, Medical; Emotions; Professional-Patient Relations

Type

Doctoral Project

Page Count

x, 60 p.

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS