Biases you didn't know existed in the healthcare industry, and how they impact patients and medical professionals

Zoë EttingerJun 17, 2020, 22:54 IST

A group of young pregnant women.Delmaine Donson/Getty Images

Biases are forms of discrimination in which we hold unfair beliefs about an entire group of people. These biases can be conscious (explicit) or unconscious (implicit).
Business Insider spoke to Dr. Jasmine Marcelin, a doctor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Dr. Chloë Fitzgerald, a researcher of implicit bias, to gain a greater understanding of bias in medicine.
Both explicit and implicit bias are prevalent in the medical field, and they can affect how patients of different races, genders, faiths, and sexualities are treated.
Due in part to biases, black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the CDC.
Though there has been great progress in reducing explicit biases, implicit biases are much harder to tackle, and they take active participation to identify and eliminate.

Biases are present in many human interactions. These typically unfair assumptions, which can encompass entire groups of people, affect how we feel about and treat members of other races, genders, faiths, weights, sexualities, and abilities. In healthcare, the effect of biases on patients can lead to dangerous consequences.

Explicit biases, or conscious biases, are easier to detect because they are overt, according to Dr. Chloë Fitzgerald, who co-authored Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review, which was published in BMC Medical Ethics.

"If someone had explicit bias, they might say, 'Oh, you know, obese people just don't work as hard, or they're lazy,'" Dr. Fitzgerald told Business Insider. However, "if it was implicit, they might choose someone else over an obese person to do a task because they'll assume the obese person will be slower to do it," she said.

Dr. Jasmine Marcelin, who co-authored The Impact of Unconscious Bias in Healthcare: How to Recognize and Mitigate It in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, said a lower presence of minorities in the medical field perpetuates bias.

Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Marcelin identified ways biases affect the healthcare industry.

Explicit bias against diverse groups has led to extreme abuse within the medical profession, like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study conducted between 1932 and 1972.

Herman Shaw, a survivor of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, with Bill Clinton. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

Due in part to biases, black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the CDC.

A stock photo of a group of young pregnant women. Delmaine Donson/Getty Images

The field of infectious diseases is also affected by implicit bias, according to Dr. Marcelin.

Members of the Asian American Commission hold a press conference to condemn racism towards the Asian American community because of the coronavirus. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Black people are 2.4 times more likely to die from the coronavirus.

A stock photo of a black patient with a doctor. FG Trade/Getty Images

Biases can also affect how medical professionals treat their colleagues, and minority medical professionals face microaggressions.

A doctor. Morsa Images/Getty Images

Dr. Marcelin shared that she herself has experienced bias in the workplace — from both patients and colleagues — as an African American female doctor.

A stock image of a female African American doctor. Getty Images

Many diseases have been historically examined in male bodies, with the assumption that the same diagnoses would apply to women.

An elderly woman experiencing chest pain. Getty Images

Men are also affected by biases. They are less likely to be diagnosed with mental health issues since they present them differently, said Dr. Fitzgerald.

A man speaking to a counselor. Getty Images

Countries with low rates of obesity have biases against people who are obese.

A subject's waist is measured during an obesity prevention study in Chicago. Associated Press

Though the medical field shares the same biases as the general population, some specialties, like pediatrics, display somewhat lower levels, said Dr. Fitzgerald.

A stock photo of a child at a doctor's office. Getty Images

LGBTQ populations experience disparities in physical and mental health outcomes due to biases, according to Dr. Marcelin's research.

The LGBTQ flag. Elizabeth Winterbourne / Shutterstock

Dr. Marcelin's research showed that LGBTQ junior physicians did not disclose their sexual identity on residency applications for fear of rejection.

A physician. Getty Images/Christopher Furlong

Though the US population is relatively diverse, there is a low rate of diversity in the healthcare profession.

A female doctor of color. Getty Images

In medicine, high rates of diversity lead to excellence in treatment. Reducing biases is everyone's issue, said Dr. Marcelin.

Medical professionals. Getty Images

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