Conscious and Unconscious Bias: The Hidden Pandemic of Biases in Healthcare Exacerbated by COVID-19

Authors

Ibtisam Rauf, St George's School of MedicineFollow
Abigail Hartmann, TriStar Southern Hills Medical CenterFollow
Alexandre Koumtchev, TriStar Centennial Medical CenterFollow
Syed Anjum Khan, Mayo ClinicFollow
Rahul Kashyap, HCA Healthcare TriStar DivisionFollow

Keywords

unconscious bias; implicit bias; hidden bias; healthcare disparities; healthcare inequality; COVID-19; SARS-COV-2; pandemic; ethnic and racial minorities

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Virus Diseases

Abstract

Background

There are limited data on unconscious bias in healthcare, but there is consistent evidence that it alters clinical decision-making. COVID-19 exacerbated many pre-existing disparities, and this paper seeks to identify, deconstruct, and propose mitigation strategies for a few of them.

Discussion

Five of the largest disparities amplified by the pandemic are discussed in this paper. Older people, Black people, uninsured people, rural communities, and people with lower education levels have been disproportionally affected in both morbidity and mortality.

Conclusions

The disparities discussed above did not occur in a vacuum but are the result of systemic issues. Equity starts with understanding and addressing the root cause, and it can be worked toward with practical and impactful solutions.

Erratum

Made minor text edits and consistent use of COVID-19.

Recommended Citation

Rauf, Ibtisam; Hartmann, Abigail; Koumtchev, Alexandre; Khan, Syed Anjum; and Kashyap, Rahul (2022) "Conscious and Unconscious Bias: The Hidden Pandemic of Biases in Healthcare Exacerbated by COVID-19," HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine: Vol. 3: Iss. 3, Article 4.
DOI: 10.36518/2689-0216.1376
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.hcahealthcare.com/hcahealthcarejournal/vol3/iss3/4