The Efficacy of an Antioppression Curriculum for Health Professionals.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Health professionals increasingly recognize the role that social determinants play in health disparities. However, little focus is placed on how health care professionals themselves contribute to disparities through biased care. We have developed a curriculum based on an antioppression framework which encourages health professionals to evaluate their biases and combat health care disparities through an active process of allyship. METHODS:Teaching methods emphasize skill building and include lectures, guided reflections, and facilitated discussions. Pre- and postsurveys were administered to assess participants' confidence level to recognize unconscious bias and to be an ally to colleagues, patients, and staff. In total, we conducted 20 workshops with a total of 468 participants across multiple disciplines. RESULTS:The survey response rate was 80%. Using a paired t-test, the mean difference in the pre- and postsurveys revealed a statistically significant improvement across all measures. Participants showed the greatest improvements (large effect size d>0.8) in their understanding of the process of allyship, their ability to describe strategies to address, assess, and recognize unconscious bias, and their knowledge of managing situations in which prejudice, power, and privilege are involved. CONCLUSIONS:Results show that an antioppression curriculum can enhance health professionals' confidence in addressing bias in health care through allyship. For those who value social justice and equity, moving from the role of bystander to a place of awareness and solidarity allows for one's behaviors to mirror these values. Allyship is an accessible tool that all health professionals can use in order to facilitate this process.

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Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.22454/fammed.2018.227415

Publication Info

Wu, Diana, Lamercie Saint-Hilaire, Andrew Pineda, Danielle Hessler, George W Saba, René Salazar and Nwando Olayiwola (2018). The Efficacy of an Antioppression Curriculum for Health Professionals. Family medicine. 10.22454/fammed.2018.227415 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17675.

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Saint Hilaire

Lamercie M Saint Hilaire

Consulting Associate in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

I am a Family Medicine physician and enjoy providing primary care to a diverse panel of patients across the lifespan.  I am passionate about serving people with complex psychosocial and medical conditions in a compassionate and empowering manner.  I strive to promote evidence-based, full-spectrum, equitable and team-based care. I enjoy getting to know my patients in the context of their community and believe in the healing power of building trusting relationships. I feel privileged to be able to walk alongside my patients on this journey and facilitate healing in a cooperative manner.  


I also serve on faculty in the Duke Community and Family Medicine department as Assistant Professor and Co-Associate Residency Program Director. I run the Population Health curriculum and my passions include health equity, structural competency, social justice and mentorship. 


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