Addressing Patient Bias Against Health Care Workers: Time for Meaningful Change
Authors: Christine Grady, Amina White
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)

Editorials15 September 2020Addressing Patient Bias Against Health Care Workers: Time for Meaningful ChangeChristine Grady, RN, PhD and Amina White, MD, MAChristine Grady, RN, PhDNational Institutes of Health Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (C.G.)Search for more papers by this author and Amina White, MD, MAUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (A.W.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M20-4542 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Protests and other acts of resistance roiled every corner of the United States and much of the world in June 2020 in response to yet another Black man's death at the hands of the police. These events occurred against a backdrop of escalating and pervasive societal divisiveness, even while the world is coping with the global threat and consequences of coronavirus. Many hope this is a moment for meaningful change.In a New York Times commentary, civil rights attorney Michelle Alexander poignantly noted “. . . we know these truths about black experiences, but we often pretend we don't” (1). We know that ...References1. Alexander M. America, this is your chance. New York Times. 8 June 2020. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/opinion/george-floyd-protests-race.html on 12 June 2020. Google Scholar2. Hall WJ, Chapman MV, Lee KM, et al. Implicit racial/ethnic bias among health care professionals and its influence on health care outcomes: a systematic review. Am J Public Health. 2015;105:e60-76. [PMID: 26469668] doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302903 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Wheeler M, de Bourmont S, Paul-Emile K, et al. Physician and trainee experience with patient bias. JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179:1678-1685. [PMID: 31657839] doi:10.1001/jamainternalmed.2019.4122 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Watson S. Credentials don't shield doctors, nurses from bias. WebMD. 18 October 2017. Accessed at www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20171018/survey-patient-bias-toward-doctors-nurses on 10 June 2020. Google Scholar5. Weeks LD. When the patient is racist, how should the doctor respond? STAT News. 12 June 2017. Accessed at www.statnews.com/2017/06/12/racism-bias-patients-doctors on 14 June 2020. Google Scholar6. Nunez-Smith M, Pilgrim N, Wynia M, et al. Race/ethnicity and workplace discrimination: results of a national survey of physicians. J Gen Intern Med. 2009;24:1198-204. [PMID: 19727966] doi:10.1007/s11606-009-1103-9 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Paul-Emile K, Critchfield JM, Wheeler M, et al. Addressing patient bias toward health care workers: recommendations for medical centers. Ann Intern Med. 2020;173:468-73. doi:10.7326/M20-0176 LinkGoogle Scholar8. Paul-Emile K, Smith AK, Lo B, et al. Dealing with racist patients. N Engl J Med. 2016;374:708-11. [PMID: 26933847] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1514939 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Human Rights Campaign. Patient non-discrimination sample policies & statements. Accessed at www.hrc.org/hei/patient-non-discrimination-sample-policies on 10 June 2020. Google Scholar10. Mello MM, Jagsi R. Standing up against gender bias and harassment—a matter of professional ethics. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:1385-1387. [PMID: 32268023] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1915351 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (C.G.)University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (A.W.)Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policies of the National Institutes of Health or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M20-4542.Corresponding Author: Christine Grady, RN, PhD, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 10/1C118, Bethesda, MD 20892; e-mail, [email protected]gov.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Grady: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 10/1C118, Bethesda, MD 20892.Dr. White: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3031 Old Clinic Building, CB# 757, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.This article was published at Annals.org on 14 July 2020. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAddressing Patient Bias Toward Health Care Workers: Recommendations for Medical Centers Kimani Paul-Emile , Jeffrey M. Critchfield , Margaret Wheeler , Shalila de Bourmont , and Alicia Fernandez Metrics Cited by“When Appearances Matter: A Taxonomy and Ethics for Demographic-Based Provider Requests”Expert Recommendations for Designing Reporting Systems to Address Patient-Perpetrated Sexual Harassment in Healthcare Settings 15 September 2020Volume 173, Issue 6Page: 496-497 ePublished: 14 July 2020 Issue Published: 15 September 2020 PDF downloadLoading ...