Words Matter: An Antibias Workshop for Health Care Professionals to Reduce Stigmatizing Language

Abstract

Introduction Biased language influences health care providers' perceptions of patients, impacts their clinical care, and prevents vulnerable populations from seeking treatment. Training clinicians to systematically replace biased verbal and written language is an essential step to providing equitable care. Methods We designed and implemented an interactive workshop to teach health care professionals a framework to identify and replace stigmatizing language in clinical practice. The workshop included a reflective exercise, role-play, brief didactic session, and case-based discussion. We developed the program for a broad target audience of providers and initially delivered it at three academic conferences. We used descriptive statistics to analyze Likert-style items on course evaluations and identified themes in open-text responses. Results A total of 66 participants completed course evaluations; most believed the workshop met its objectives (4.8 out of 5.0) and strongly agreed that they would apply skills learned (4.8). Participants planned to incorporate reflection into their verbal and written language. Potential barriers to applying course content included perceived difficulty in changing entrenched practice habits, burnout, and fatigue. Suggestions for improvement included more time for group discussions and strategies to teach skills to colleagues. Discussion Participants found the course material highly engaging and relevant to their clinical practice. Learners left the workshop feeling motivated to engage in more mindful word choice and to share key concepts with their colleagues.

Nonmedical Transdisciplinary Perspectives of Black and Racially and Ethnically Diverse Individuals About Antiracism Practices: A Qualitative Study

“…Prior research documents that clinician racial bias is associated with negative outcomes in the language used in a clinical encounter. 35 Our findings suggest that clinicians may have an opportunity to intentionally address personally mediated racism through humble inquiry, using positive language with patients 19 (eg, reinforcing their successes) and avoiding stigmatizing language notes in the electronic health record, 38,39 with the goal of also promoting antiracism in the heads and hearts of clinicians. At a systems level, our findings suggest the role clinics and leadership may adopt in educating clinical teams about institutional racism.…”

Outcomes From a Novel Graduate Medical Education Leadership Program in Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

“…Of note, all 8 groups in the first 2 cohorts have presented their workshops at a national conference (FIGURE). Three groups have published in MedEd-PORTAL [32][33][34] and one in a national blog. 35 Program Satisfaction: All scholars (74 of 74, 100%) felt the LEAD Program should continue and expand to all GME programs at our institution.…”

Words matter: Labelling, bias and stigma in nursing

“…Raney et al. (2021) shared some basic questions to consider when communicating about patients and families: Does my communication cast blame on the person I am accompanying in care? Does it reinforce stereotypes? Does my communication include unnecessary opinions or information? Does my language express disapproval? How would my patient feel if they read my documentation? …”

“…Unfortunately, using e34 | EDITORIAL this language is so common in healthcare that it seemed usual and customary. I now realize that the language I used perpetuated stereotypes, influenced care decisions and probably prevented people from seeking care (Raney et al, 2021).…”