REACH Implicit Bias Training Project

The overall goal and theme of the Duke Center for Research to Advance Equity in Healthcare is to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health through interventions that affect the clinical encounter. To achieve this goal, there is an urgent need for interventions that address implicit bias in healthcare. Implicit bias training is widely used to raise self-awareness and provide self-management tools. The overall objective is to test the hypothesis that implicit bias training for healthcare providers will reduce racial and ethnic disparities in patient- centered care. The proposed project will lay the groundwork for testing that hypothesis by using patient focus groups to garner a deeper understanding of perceptions of implicit bias in the clinical encounter; provider and health system stakeholder semi-structured interviews to inform refinement of the existing implicit bias training at Duke; and perform a pilot study of implicit bias training for providers. At the conclusion of this study, the investigators will have the necessary preliminary data to propose a definitive trial to determine the impact of an implicit bias training intervention for providers on racial and ethnic disparities in patient-centered care. This research will ultimately lead to the delivery of equitable, evidence-based, patient-centered care for all.