Obesity bias awareness decreases nursing students' bias toward patients with obesity

Abstract

Purpose: To determine if obesity bias scores among nursing students changed after education was delivered and to what degree body mass index (BMI) was associated with a personal experience of bias during a student's healthcare history. Methods: A quantitative, quasi-experimental design was used to analyze sociodemographic information and Implicit Association Test scores of junior, senior, and full-time accelerated coursework track nursing students. Results: Generally, obesity bias declined among the group. However, bias increased regarding increasing BMI. Conclusion: Obesity bias awareness and obesity education can decrease obesity bias among nursing students.