Real-World Lessons from COVID-19: Driving Oncology Care Forward

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Acknowledging Implicit Bias

Although multiple studies have shown the impact of implicit bias in healthcare and cancer care, how best to create awareness and to mitigate the effects of unconscious biases at the system, department, and individual level are topics of debate. Sutter Health has partnered with Impact4Health to design and implement training on inclusive leadership, health equity, and implicit bias. (See interview on page 39 for more.) Creating buy-in from staff across all levels of the health system is an ongoing process, Azar said. Though many physician leaders are on board with implicit bias training, logistics can be a barrier, as can the size of the health network, which includes both employed and contracted physician groups. Work is underway in partnership with Sutter Health University to find ways to provide some content on demand. The Institute for Advancing Health Equity is also interested in developing ways to augment the more traditional training formats with some experiential components, such as virtual reality or gamification, Azar said. Another consideration is how to create a learning environment in which there are opportunities to observe difficult conversations with patients through a series of case studies. “It’s the idea of not having that one-time training but how do we give people the space to really engage with what they’re being taught,” Azar said. “The second piece of that is evaluation, long-term monitoring, and understanding—does this actually change behavior? This is something that is really important for us as well. The field really has a lot of room to grow in those areas, so I’m excited that we are on this journey with so many other wonderful health systems, and researchers, and scientists who are really trying to move this forward.”

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Notes on contributors

Amanda Patton

Amanda Patton, MA, is a freelance healthcare writer. She worked as a senior writer and editor for the Association of Community Cancer Centers for more than 15 years. Learn more at sutterhealth.org/healthequity or email [email protected].