Table 1 Descriptions of Mitigation Strategies
From: Healthcare inequities and healthcare providers: we are part of the problem
Mitigation strategy | Description |
|---|---|
Self-reflection | Increase self-awareness by taking Harvard’s Implicit Association Test (IAT) and reflecting on revealed biases. Make active efforts to combat these specific biases through self-monitoring/self-regulation [8,60]. |
Seeking feedback | While participating in simulation-based implicit bias mitigation training, an outside perspective can help one identify underlying biases they would not otherwise be aware of [8]. |
Hands-on/Simulation-based education | Creating a safe environment where participants can participate in scenarios provides an opportunity for participants to elicit changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior [62]. |
Stereotype replacement | Acknowledging that one’s response is influenced by a stereotype and making a deliberate effort to adjust it [58]. |
Counter-stereotypic imaging | Imagining a person associated with a specific social group as being the opposite of a stereotype of that group [58]. |
Individuation | Focusing on a person as an individual set apart from their social group and any stereotypes associated with that social group [58]. |
Perspective taking | “Putting yourself in another person’s shoes” increases empathy and concern for other social groups [58]. |
Intergroup contact | Immersion in another culture/social group reduces prejudice and reduces healthcare provider anxiety while boosting their confidence during interpersonal communication [65]. |
Partnership building | Healthcare providers redefining their relationships with their patients as more of a partnership where patients collaborate with their providers when deciding on a healthcare plan instead of resembling a one-sided authoritative role of the practitioner [58]. |
Emotional regulation | Reducing anxiety in stressful environments reduces implicit bias [55]. |
Mindfulness meditation | Engaging in meditative practices, including yoga, results in less implicit bias in the clinical setting [71]. |
Evaluative conditioning | Associating specific social groups with positive attributes [72]. |