The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas health department are partnering to address unconscious biases in healthcare workers, using a $600,000 grant from the CDC.
Research shows that seniors, minorities and rural citizens are more likely to encounter bias from healthcare workers, according to a post on the university's website. In an attempt to combat the issue, UAMS' College of Public Health will provide online training to at least 125 of its healthcare instructors. The trained instructors will then pass the knowledge to their students in class, the post said.
The five-module training could improve healthcare outcomes in the state, Cindy Lewis, associate professor and director of the office of professional development and program evaluation at the college, said in the post.
"If patients do not respond well to their healthcare providers due to feeling like they're receiving biased care, it could cause them to stop treatment or to not seek treatment for new issues in the future," she said.