LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) — An executive order signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Thursday will require the state’s health professionals to take implicit-bias awareness training as a requirement to get or keep a license, as well as register with the state.
“It’s important for us to be aware of our biases. The problem is it’s unconscious,” said Dr. Randolph Rasch, dean of the Michigan State University College of Nursing and member of the state’s coronavirus task force.
Implicit-bias training and surveys help workers actually see what biases they may have — with the goal of making them aware enough to correct them. Bias among healthcare workers — the unconscious preference for some groups or negative judgement of others — creates disparities in access to health care, the quality of care received, and health outcomes. This affects people of color, people whose weight or height falls out of the typical range, or people in the LGBTQIA communities, among others, according to multiple studies.
As of July 5, Black Michigan residents represented 14 percent of the state’s population, for example, but 40 percent of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in which the race of the patient was known. COVID-19 is more than four times more prevalent among Black Michigan residents than whites.
The National Healthcare Disparities Report shows white patients receive higher-quality care than Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and Asian Americans. People of color face more barriers to accessing health care than white people and are generally less satisfied with health care provider experiences. Some studies show medical professionals are less likely to take reports of pain or other symptoms seriously.
Implicit-bias training and reduction are among the recommendations of Michigan’s Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities to state officials..
Whitmer noted Thursday that, while front-line health care workers like doctors and nurses are heroes during the COVID-19 crisis, “evidence shows that training in implicit bias can make a positive difference.”
She added she and everyone in her administration will be taking the training as well.
“The existing health disparities highlighted during the coronavirus pandemic have made it clear that there is more work to do to ensure people of color have the same access to the same quality of health care as everyone else,” said Lt. Governor Gilchrist II, chair of state’s COVID-19 task force on racial disparities. “By providing awareness to health care workers on how to recognize and mitigate implicit bias, we can help them carry out their mission of providing the best health care to every patient they serve.”
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services chief medical executive and chief deputy director for health, has previously spoken of disparity of care.
On Thursday, she said “the fact is that implicit bias exists, and studies show that it can have an impact on health outcomes. Every healthcare professional should be trained in implicit bias so that we can make sure everyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity, has access to the highest quality care.”
Micheal Chafty, chairman of the state’s board of medicine, praised the plan and voiced his ongoing support for it.
Learn about your own implicit biases here: implicit.harvard.edu.
To view Executive Directive 2020-7, visit: ED 2020-07.pdf.
