Implicit bias in health care settings can contribute to inequitable treatment—and exacerbate health disparities. A newly developed virtual training series aims to help obstetricians recognize, understand and address implicit bias toward black mothers.
Participants say the training helps them communicate better with these patients, they said Charee Thompsoncommunication researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and one of the lead authors of the 2024 study which describes the series and the results.
“The goal was to be more educational and say, ‘Can we show you a postpartum tour with a Black mother and a physician and where it shows?’ [how] implicit bias showing through communication?” she said. “’Can we tell you why it’s a problem? Because it’s a stereotype, because it’s a microaggression, and it’s a habit.'”
The first module in a series of three focuses on implicit bias and how it can negatively impact a patient during a doctor’s appointment. In the VR training, participants – who are medical students and physicians – observe an interaction between a black patient and a white male doctor during a postpartum examination.
During the meeting, the doctor dismisses the woman’s symptoms and comments on her family’s life based on negative stereotypes about black people. After participants have seen the interaction, they are asked to pay attention to how the patient reacted to the comments made to her.
To test the model, the researchers recruited 30 participants for a laboratory study that included a pretest, VR training and a posttest.
Once the training was complete, the participants reported an improvement in their perception of implicit bias and a better understanding of the importance of effective communication. Participants said they would be alert to patients’ verbal and nonverbal cues in future interactions, Thompson said. In addition, medical student participants said they would prioritize the patient’s feelings.
Mardia Bishop, a professor of communication at the U of I who was involved in the study, said that VR allows physicians to see the potential effects of bias.
“The format of a speech is not good for this because many times you have to make people feel, or you have to see what’s going on. You have to see what is being said and how what is being said affects the patient,” she said.
Sara Babu is a communications doctoral student with experience researching bias in health care and was not involved in this study. She said she is excited about this approach because using VR is an innovative way to tackle the issue of prejudice.
“Trainings created using PowerPoint slides, for example, may not hold people’s attention in the same way as something like virtual reality training that builds an online learning environment,” Babu said.
Even though the VR models allow medical students and physicians to experience real-life situations, Babu said, the technology may not be accessible to some because of its high cost.
In addition to addressing implicit bias, Babu hopes that future training models will also teach students about differences related to class, sexuality or citizenship. She said it’s important to recognize that some people face discrimination in maternal health care because of these, and other factors.
The second and third training modules are currently being developed, Thompson said. They aim to help medical students identify and address their own biases and enable them to practice their communication skills with virtual patients.
Thompson said that if the VR training modules are approved by the National Institutes of Health, they will receive funding to complete the project and proceed to test the modules in six medical schools across the country.
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