Investigating the Role of Implicit Class Bias in the Clinical Encounter: A Call to Eliminate Health Disparities

Abstract

Despite their explicit commitment to providing equal care, studies suggest that implicit prejudice and stereotyping can impact the judgment and behavior of healthcare providers when they interact with stigmatized patients. These implicit biases are associated with undermining of the patient-provider relationship, lower quality of care, disparate health recommendations, and, ultimately, unequal patient health outcomes. While implicit biases exist on multiple dimensions against individuals as members of disadvantaged groups, implicit biases against low socioeconomic status patients have the broadest scope, yet few studies have fully investigated the role of implicit class bias. Identifying current approaches and limitations in studies of implicit class bias is imperative in bridging the gap in social health disparities at the level of the clinical encounter. [From Introduction]