Don't be afraid to challenge your doctor. Here's how to advocate for yourself.
Health-care providers and organizations bear the responsibility for rooting out bias in medical care, experts say. In the meantime, though, there are steps patients can take to shield themselves.
Bias in health care isn’t limited to race, religion or gender. One 2015 American Journal of Public Health study, for instance, concluded that “implicit preferences for heterosexual people versus lesbian and gay people are pervasive among heterosexual health care providers.” Many providers “hold strong negative attitudes and stereotypes about people with obesity,” noted a separate 2015 study in the journal Obesity Reviews.
But while institutional change takes its course, there are steps patients can take to guard themselves against implicit bias, experts say: Make sure your provider understands who you are, what you believe and what you value. Your provider should be performing some sort of cultural assessment to learn more about you — and if she or he doesn’t, volunteer the information yourself, Alexander said. Maybe you hold religious beliefs that govern your medical care, use alternative medicine associated with your culture, or live in an area impacted by food deserts or environmental hazards.
In the same vein, pay attention to how much time the doctor is spending with you, Alexander said — after all, the less time you spend together, “the more likely that assumptions are being made” based on their previous experience treating patients they perceive to be like you. “It’s in the assumptions that the problems occur, particularly around bias,” she said. It’s OK to ask for more time or a follow-up appointment in a non-emergency situation, she said.
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