Resilient remediation of inequities will require us to deconstruct the social fabric that perpetuates pervasive prejudice and bias. Difficult conversations will have to be had among colleagues. Uncomfortable moments of learning will be inevitable in order to break down barriers between providers and patients…
Read MoreThe institutions we are in shape our behaviors. When institutions shape our behaviors such that our behaviors are no longer in line with our values we experience burnout. Burnout is a problem with the company not the individual” (Harvard Business Review) [2]. How we approach remediating harms, whether it be from workplace accidents to healthcare inequities, we must remember that our institutions hold the power and the responsibility of our culture…
Read MoreWhen we think of basic behavior patterning we think of classical vs. operant conditioning [1]. In 1904 Ivan Pavlov won the Nobel prize in Physiology [2] for his experiments of classical conditioning. In his experiments, he trained a reflex behavior, salivating to food in dogs to salivating to a bell (instead of to food), thereby re-routing a reflex behavior through conditioning. Operant conditioning is a term coined in 1937 by B.F. Skinner to describe conditioning voluntary behavior change based on punishment or reward (consequences) [3]…
Read MoreHistorically bias was a synonym of preference. In psychology and anthropology bias is defined as an inherited preference or learned preference. For example, an inherited dislike of bitter foods. In this way, bias is seen as a conserved evolutionary trait because of how it connoted a survival benefit…
Read MoreThe CDC definition of health disparities acknowledges the role of “-isms” as significant contributing factors of inequities. Some examples of pervasive toxic “-isms” include: racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, heterosexism (i.e., homophobia), classism, sizeism, and antisemitism. “-isms” are the behavioral manifestation of bias, conscious or unconscious, that reinforce oppression and inequities in our culture.
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