Implicit Racial/Ethnic Bias Among Health Care Professionals and Its Influence on Health Care Outcomes: A Systematic Review

TLDR: Although some associations between implicit bias and health care outcomes were nonsignificant, results showed that implicit bias was significantly related to patient-provider interactions, treatment decisions, treatment adherence, and patient health outcomes.

Abstract: Background. In the United States, people of color face disparities in access to health care, the quality of care received, and health outcomes. The attitudes and behaviors of health care providers have been identified as one of many factors that contribute to health disparities. Implicit attitudes are thoughts and feelings that often exist outside of conscious awareness, and thus are difficult to consciously acknowledge and control. These attitudes are often automatically activated and can influence human behavior without conscious volition.Objectives. We investigated the extent to which implicit racial/ethnic bias exists among health care professionals and examined the relationships between health care professionals’ implicit attitudes about racial/ethnic groups and health care outcomes.Search Methods. To identify relevant studies, we searched 10 computerized bibliographic databases and used a reference harvesting technique.Selection Criteria. We assessed eligibility using double independent screening ba...