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Showing results for tags 'Unconscious bias'.
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News Article
Conference highlights racial disparity in UK maternal healthcare
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Unconscious bias in the UK healthcare system is contributing to the stark racial disparity in maternal healthcare outcomes, a conference has heard. The Black Maternal Health Conference UK, also heard that black women not being listened to by healthcare professionals was also a contributing factor. The conference, organised by The Motherhood Group, was arranged to highlight the racial inequality in maternal healthcare and the disparity in maternal mortality between white, ethnic minority and black women in the UK. Black women in the UK are four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than white women, according to a report published by MBRRACE-UK. Asian women are twice as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth. Sandra Igwe, who founded the NGO The Motherhood Group in 2016 after the traumatic birth of her daughter, told the PA Media that the event was an opportunity to “bridge the community, stakeholders, professionals, [and] government”, de-stigmatise mental health and bring about change to improve black maternal health. “There are so many stats – so why wouldn’t we have a whole day’s conference dedicated to addressing these, just scratching the surface of some of the stats?” Charities and activists have been raising alarm bells about the dangerous consequences of unconscious bias in maternal healthcare for many years. Igwe co-chaired the Birthrights inquiry, a year-long investigation into racial injustice in the UK maternity services, which heard testimony from women, birthing people, healthcare professionals and lawyers and concluded that “systemic racism exists in the UK and in public services”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 March 2023 Sandra Igwe is our hub topic lead for Black Maternal Health. Read our recent interview with Sandra. -
News Article
‘Toxic working environment’ exposed at troubled unit
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Staff endured a “toxic and difficult working environment” at a maternity unit an employment tribunal has found. The tribunal panel said that the case of a black midwife, Kemi Akinmaji, who partially won her case against East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust for racial discrimination showed “there were wider issues beyond the specific allegations before us and which were possibly related to race”. The tribunal judgment said: “The evidence we heard reflected a toxic and difficult working environment generally where the claimant and colleagues were shouted and sworn at over differences of professional opinion. There was some evidence before us that there were wider issues beyond the specific allegations before us and which were possibly related to race… “There is evidence of wider bullying of the claimant in the way the group of colleagues treated the claimant… We’ve also heard that the previous grievance had highlighted risks in respect of unconscious bias and identified recommendations which were not actioned. “The race champion was not appointed and the unconscious bias training not sufficiently followed through. We also heard evidence of staff being wary of further such complaints. These matters were all concerning but we had to limit ourselves to the specific allegations brought by the claimant and which the respondent had been given an opportunity to address.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 March 2023- Posted
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- Organisational culture
- Race
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Content Article
Sarah's tips for women when speaking to medical professionals Know your body and come prepared Equip yourself with evidence and knowledge Rule out the worst-case scenarios Bring back-up Treat it like a collaboration Try to understand the challenges your doctor faces- Posted
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- Womens health
- Obstetrics and gynaecology/ Maternity
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Content Article
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham, who secured this debate, highlighted some of the key statistics around black maternal health and mortality in the UK: Black babies have a 121% increased risk of stillbirth and a 50% increased risk of neonatal death. Asian babies have a 55% increased risk of stillbirth and a 66% increased risk of neonatal mortality. Black women have a 43% higher risk of miscarriage, and black ethnicity is now regarded as a risk factor for miscarriage. She also referred to the findings of black maternal experiences survey carried out by grassroots organisation Five X More published earlier this year. She noted that this report highlights all the negative interactions that women experienced with healthcare professionals, from feeling discriminated against in their care to receiving a poor standard of care, which put their safety at risk, and being denied pain relief because of the trope that black women are less likely to feel pain. The Government response in this debate was provided by Maria Caulfield MP, Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy.- Posted
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- Obstetrics and gynaecology/ Maternity
- Health inequalities
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Content Article
Key findings The environmental scan revealed that while patient safety events, overall, were characterised by racial and ethnic disparities, methodological challenges—primarily related to data availability—limited in-depth analysis of this finding. The environmental scan also indicated that racism and its impact on patient safety events was more often discussed in editorials than in peer-reviewed and grey literature. Subject-matter expert interviews indicated that various levels of racism ranging from internalized and interpersonal to institutional and systemic directly impact the risk of patient safety events and highlighted the interplay between racism and social determinants of health. The authors also identified patient, provider, and systems factors that contribute to disparities in patient safety events. Recommendations Health systems should collect patient safety data with equity in mind so that these systems can analyse patient safety events by sociodemographic factors and look for disparities in these events. Health systems and patient safety reporting vendors must develop more-efficient and user-friendly formal reporting systems so that healthcare providers are more likely to report patient safety events. Healthcare as an industry and medicine as a discipline need to create a culture of speaking up that prevents patient safety events caused by racism from happening. Health insurance reform is needed to address some of the underlying drivers of disparities in patient safety events.- Posted
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- Health inequalities
- Health Disparities
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News Article
Obese patients ‘being weight-shamed by doctors and nurses’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Doctors and nurses often “weight-shame” people who are overweight or obese, leaving them feeling anxious, depressed and wrongly blaming themselves for their condition, research has found. Such behaviour, although usually the result of “unconscious weight bias”, leads to people not attending medical appointments, feeling humiliated and being more likely to put on weight. Dr Anastasia Kalea and colleagues at University College London analysed 25 previous studies about “weight stigma”, undertaken in different countries, involving 3,554 health professionals. They found “extensive evidence [of] strong weight bias” among a wide range of health staff, including doctors, nurses, dieticians, psychologists and even obesity specialists. Their analysis found that a number of health professionals “believe their patients are lazy, lack self-control, overindulge, are hostile, dishonest, have poor hygiene and do not follow guidance”, said Kalea, an associate professor in UCL’s division of medicine. She added: “Sadly, healthcare, including general practice, is one of the most common settings for weight stigmatisation and we know this acts as a barrier to the services and treatments that can help people manage weight. “An example is a GP that will unconsciously show that they do not believe that the patient complies with their eat less/exercise more regime they were asked to follow as they are not losing weight." “The result is that patients are not coming back or they delay their follow-up appointments, they avoid healthcare prevention services or cancel appointments due to concerns of being stigmatised due to their weight.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 August 2022 -
Event
Cultural safety and unconscious bias in maternity care
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilJoin us for a series of free online webinars brought to you by Bolt Burdon Kemp’s specialist Women’s Health Team to help raise awareness of racial inequality in maternal healthcare. Hear from leaders and influencers in maternal healthcare, focusing on changes required across the profession to improve the level of care provided to those who identify as ethnic minority mothers and birthing people. We have a fabulous line up of expert speakers and each webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Come and join us for a chance to contribute to the discussion and share experiences. This webinar will be led by Natasha Smith, Founder of Eden’s Script and Benash Nazmeen, Practising Midwife. To register, please email webinars@boltburdonkemp.co.uk - you will be sent a Zoom invite with joining details nearer the time.- Posted
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- Womens health
- Maternity
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Event
untilJoin us for a series of free online webinars brought to you by Bolt Burdon Kemp’s specialist Women’s Health Team to help raise awareness of racial inequality in maternal healthcare. Hear from leaders and influencers in maternal healthcare, focusing on changes required across the profession to improve the level of care provided to those who identify as ethnic minority mothers and birthing people. We have a fabulous line up of expert speakers and each webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Come and join us for a chance to contribute to the discussion and share experiences. This webinar will be led by Mars Lord, Doula Educator and Birth Activist. To register, please email webinars@boltburdonkemp.co.uk - you will be sent a Zoom invite with joining details nearer the time.- Posted
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- Womens health
- Maternity
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Event
Racial Bias in Women’s Health
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilJoin us for a series of free online webinars brought to you by Bolt Burdon Kemp’s specialist Women’s Health Team to help raise awareness of racial inequality in maternal healthcare. Hear from leaders and influencers in maternal healthcare, focusing on changes required across the profession to improve the level of care provided to those who identify as ethnic minority mothers and birthing people. We have a fabulous line up of expert speakers and each webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Come and join us for a chance to contribute to the discussion and share experiences. This webinar will be led by Dr Christine Ekechi, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Co-chair of the Race Equality Taskforce at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and spokesperson for racial equality. To register, please email webinars@boltburdonkemp.co.uk - you will be sent a Zoom invite with joining details nearer the time.- Posted
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- Womens health
- Maternity
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Content Article
There are a number of categories of cognitive bias described in more detail in these guidelines: Expectation bias, also known as experimenter’s bias, where the expectation of what an individual will find affects what is actually found. Confirmation bias is closely related to expectation bias, whereby people test hypotheses by looking for confirming evidence rather than for potentially conflicting evidence. Anchoring effects or focalism are closely related to both of the above and occur when an individual relies too heavily on an initial piece of information when making subsequent judgements, which are then interpreted on the basis of the anchor. Contextual bias is where someone has other information aside from that being considered, which influences (either consciously or subconsciously) the outcome of the consideration. Role effects are where scientists identify themselves within adversarial judicial systems as part of either the prosecution or defence teams. This may introduce subconscious bias that can influence decisions, especially where some ambiguity exists. Motivational bias occurs where, for example, motivational influence on decision making results in information consistent with a favoured conclusion tending to be subject to a lower level of scrutiny than information that may support a less favoured outcome. Reconstructive effects can occur when people rely on memory rather than taking contemporaneous notes. In this case people tend subsequently to fill in gaps with what they believe should have happened, and so may be influenced by protocol requirements when recalling events some time later from memory.- Posted
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- Investigation
- Regulatory issue
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Event
Overcoming unconscious bias: A plenary session with Dr Pragya Agarwal
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilNorth East London Training Hubs (CEPNs) are delighted to invite all local health and care colleagues to this virtual session on unconscious bias. Behavioural and data scientist Dr Pragya Agarwal will present this informative and actionable masterclass that will demystify the meaning of different unconscious biases and supply you with the tools to unlearn yours. A choice of 3 dates are being offered. You will also have the opportunity to attend a smaller interactive facilitated workshops on the subject including looking at case studies and role play. These sessions will be held in February and March 2021 Dr Pragya Agarwal is an award-winning behavioural scientist, a freelance journalist and author. As a Senior Academic in US and UK universities, she has held the prestigious Leverhulme Fellowship, following a PhD from the University of Nottingham. Her publications are on reading lists of leading academic courses across the world. A passionate campaigner for women’s rights, and two-time TEDx speaker herself, Pragya organised the first ever TEDxWoman event in the north of the UK. She regularly appears on panels and has given keynotes around the world. Register -
Event
Join clinical experts, thought leaders, and advocates for a collaborative discussion on the issues of health disparities, structural racism, and medicine as they examine specific dermatologic diseases in a series of four free and open educational webinars from the Harvard Medical School. Structural racism and racial bias in medicine: Wednesday, October 28, 1:00-2:15 PM ET Hair disorders in people of colour: Thursday, November 12, 1:00-2:15 PM ET Pigmentary disorders and keloids: Wednesday, November 18, 1:00-2:15 PM ET COVID-19 Comorbidities and cutaneous manifestations of systemic diseases in adults and children: Wednesday, December 2, 1:00-2:15 PM ET Implicit bias and structural racism play a central role in the development of healthcare disparities. One of the critically important areas in medicine is the misdiagnosis of disease in people with darker skin types due to implicit bias and the lack of awareness among physicians in recogniszing the disease pattern. Clinicians in primary care, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and other medical specialties can deliver improved care if they can recognize and diagnose medical conditions based on skin findings in patients of color. This four-part series aims to improve diagnosis in people of color, describe pathogenesis and treatment of diseases, develop cultural competency, and impact change in health care policy so more is done to reduce racial bias in medical practice and medical research. Providing this education, in turn, will ultimately help reduce health disparities and improve the lives of underrepresented minority populations. Register for one event or all four.- Posted
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- Race
- Unconscious bias
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Content Article
Survey - Asthma is worse for women (27 April 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Women's health
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- Asthma
- Health inequalities
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Community Post
Is the word 'Whistleblowing' taboo?
Steve Turner posted a topic in Speak Up Guardians
- Patient safety / risk management leads
- Teacher / lecturer
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(and 16 more)
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- Patient safety / risk management leads
- Teacher / lecturer
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- Unconscious bias
- Gaslighting
- Accountability
- Bullying
- Speaking up
- Transparency
- Whistleblowing
- Communication problems
- Perception / understanding
- Leadership
- Just Culture
- Leadership style
- Organisational culture
- Organisational learning
- Team culture
It's #SpeakUpMonth in the #NHS so why isn't the National Guardian Office using the word whistleblowing? After all it was the Francis Review into whistleblowing that led to the recommendation for Speak Up Guardians. I believe that if we don't talk about it openly and use the word 'WHISTLEBLOWING' we will be unable to learn and change. Whistleblowing isn’t a problem to be solved or managed, it’s an opportunity to learn and improve. So many genuine healthcare whistleblowers seem to be excluded from contributing to the debate, and yes not all those who claim to be whistleblowers are genuine. The more we move away for labelling and stereotyping, and look at what's happening from all angles, the more we will learn. Regardless of our position, role or perceived status, we all need to address this much more openly and explicitly, in a spirit of truth and with a genuine desire to learn and change.- Posted
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- Patient safety / risk management leads
- Teacher / lecturer
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(and 16 more)
Tagged with:
- Patient safety / risk management leads
- Teacher / lecturer
- Board member
- Unconscious bias
- Gaslighting
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- Bullying
- Speaking up
- Transparency
- Whistleblowing
- Communication problems
- Perception / understanding
- Leadership
- Just Culture
- Leadership style
- Organisational culture
- Organisational learning
- Team culture
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News Article
Miscarriage: 'I was in pain and they did not listen'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Research shows black women are at a 40% higher risk of pregnancy loss than white women. It is an urgent problem, which the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says needs greater attention, with many complex reasons driving this higher risk. These include a lack of quality research involving all ethnicities - but RCOG head Dr Edward Morris says implicit racial bias is also affecting some women's experience of care. Isabel Gomes Obasi and her husband, Paulson, from Coventry, are expecting a baby boy in March. They are extremely anxious as almost a year ago their baby boy Andre died four months into Isabel's pregnancy. Giving birth to Andre was extremely traumatic, Isabel says, but how she was treated when in severe pain and bleeding, in the days before her loss, made the experience worse. "We knew something was wrong, so we went into hospital and waited five hours to be seen by a doctor," she says. "I remember being laughed at by one of the nurses, who said, 'Just go home. Why do you keep coming in?'" Isabel was checked over and told the baby was fine but says her intuition and pain were belittled and ignored. Within 48 hours of going home, Isabel began bleeding heavily. There is little doctors can do at this relatively early stage of pregnancy to save a baby's life. But the feeling of not being listened to has stayed with Isabel ever since. "I just shut down," she says. "The experience made me anxious and depressive, if not suicidal." Asked why she was not listened to, she said: "The colour of my skin," the attitude of some staff was: "'You have black skin - you are not from here - you can wait.'" Dr Morris says it is "unacceptable" women belonging to ethnic minorities face worse outcomes than white women - especially in maternity care. "Implicit racial bias from medical staff can hinder consultations and negatively influence treatment options," he says. This can stop some women engaging with healthcare. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 February 2022 -
News Article
Women report waiting longer for operations and appointments in pandemic
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women are being forced to wait longer for operations and healthcare appointments in the wake of the pandemic, according to a new report. Research carried out by the Care Quality Commission, England’s regulator of health and social care, found 53% of women experienced longer waiting times for appointments or healthcare procedures during the Covid crisis. The report also found 3 in 10 women experienced appointment cancellations. More women report grappling with these issues than men – with some 44% of men saying they have experienced longer waiting times for appointments or procedures. Helena Mckeown, a GP who previously specialised in women’s health at the British Medical Association (BMA), told The Independent she is not surprised by the findings. "Our world is full of sexism and we know of other examples of sexism and biases in healthcare. Some of them are racial biases. To stop unconscious biases, they need to be recognised and addressed. Ms Mckeown, one of the directors of the Menopause Expert Group, a non-profit which provides education about menopause, said female patients are treated differently to men. She added: “We need to make sure we are not taking women saying they are in pain differently to men saying they are in pain. It is really important that we address this problem of women waiting longer for operations and appointments.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 22 January 2022- Posted
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- Womens health
- Health inequalities
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Content Article
Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Related reading Lisa Rampersad, The normalisation of women's pain, November 2020 Lucy Cohen, The pain of my IUD fitting was horrific... and I'm not alone, June 2021 Patient Safety Learning, Dangerous exclusions: The risk to patient safety of sex and gender bias, March 2021 Patient Safety Learning, Improving hysteroscopy safety, November 2020 Sarah Graham, Gender bias: A threat to women's health, August 2020 Stephanie O'Donohue, 'Women are being dismissed, disbelieved and shut out', Hysterical Women, November 2020- Posted
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- Health inequalities
- Health Disparities
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