During their ANPD Virtual Symposium presentation, M. Rebecca O’Connor, PhD, RN, Deborah C. Stamps, EdD, MBA, MS, RN, GNP, NE-BC, CDE®, and Kenya Beard, EdD, AGACNP-BC, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, will address how biases and health system policies and programs can impact health care outcomes, as well as actionable steps to mitigate the impact of bias on quality care. Below they share an in-depth preview of what attendees can expect to hear from their presentation.
During the three-year coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, health care providers were reminded that health care access and quality in the U.S. compared negatively to other countries. The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. revealed that biases, inequitable health system policies, social determinants of health (SDOH), and a lack of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) impacted health care outcomes across marginalized populations in all communities.
Healthy People 2030 encourages public health organizations and their partners in education, transportation, and housing to take action to address SDOH. An overarching goal of Healthy People 2030 is to "Create social, physical, and economic environments that promote attaining the full potential for health and well-being for all" (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.). Nursing education is an essential place to introduce SDOH.
Nurse leaders must understand how SDOH—economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context—significantly affect the health outcomes of all people. SDOH influence various health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks—impacting the whole person and communities, contributing to health disparities and inequities, and negatively impacting overall well-being.
Cultural and linguistic barriers remain apparent in patients' health care experiences. Unintentional discrimination can be caused by implicit (unconscious) bias, resulting in health disparities and poor patient health care outcomes (Stamps, 2021). Individual biases can work within social, cultural, and economic structures where inequitable policies and practices perpetuate systemic racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination. In health care, bias-driven practices and policies not only negatively impact patient care and the training environment for health care workers such as nurses and physicians, but they can also limit the diversity of the health care workforce, lead to inequitable distribution of research funding, and hinder career advancement (Beard et al., 2022).
Health disparities and poor health care outcomes are often the results of implicit bias. While implicit bias is unintentional, it can be interrupted when observed by a nurse leader, other health care workers, or the individual themselves. Implicit bias is an inclination to judge without question or awareness, often directly contradicting a person's beliefs and values. Implicit bias can lead to health disparities, including under treatment of conditions like pain, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and mental health in minoritized populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses working with diverse populations were not always prepared to recognize, assess, and mitigate implicit biases affecting health care workplaces. When nurses cannot interrupt implicit biases, their decision-making and responses might not align with nursing values. Nurse leaders must offer support and build awareness of implicit bias at all levels of nursing and recognize its existence as a barrier to diversity (Stamps, 2021).
The U.S. Census Bureau (2020) reminds us that 2030 marks a demographic first for the U.S., as population aging and international migration are projected to overtake natural increases as the primary driver of population growth for the country. Nurse leaders must prepare for the projected increase in diversity among the populations they treat. A critical component of the preparation will include strategies to ensure health equity is available to all people in all communities, and every person can attain his or her full health potential (CDC, n.d.). Health equity is the principle underlying a commitment to reduce and ultimately eliminate disparities in health and well-being and the SDOH. (Braveman, 2014). This presentation will discuss barriers affecting health care outcomes and emphasize ways to control implicit bias, including how nurse leaders can improve health outcomes across all communities.
Enhance your professional development at the ANPD Virtual Symposium. This unique education offering includes both live and on-demand sessions, as well as virtual poster presentations, and allows the opportunity to earn up to 11.75 nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hours. Registration includes access to all sessions on November 7, 2023, as well as on-demand access through December 6, 2023.
References
Beard, K., Julion, W. A., & Waite, R. (2022). Educators countering the impact of structural racism on health equity. Nursing Clinics of North America, 57(3), 453-460.
Braveman, P. (2014). What are health disparities and health equity? We need to be clear. Public Health Rep https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863701/#:~:text=Health%20disparities%20adversely%20affect%20groups,sexual%20orientation%20or%20gender%20identity
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).(n.d.). Attaining Health Equity, https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthequity/index.html.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Social Determinants of Health. Healthy People 2030. U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health
Stamps, D.C., (2021). Nursing Leadership Must Confront Implicit Bias as a Barrier to Diversity in Health Care Today. Nurse Leader. https://www.nurseleader.com/article/S1541-4612(21)00023-9/pdf.
United States Census. (2020). Demographic Turning Points for the United State: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.pdf.
M. Rebecca O'Connor, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Nursing
Dr. Rebecca O'Connor is an Associate Professor in the University of Washington School of Nursing (SON), and an inaugural Betty Irene Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators Fellow. Her research, teaching, and service reflect her commitment to addressing bias in nursing and beyond. She collaboratively developed and leads the Implicit Bias Clinical Teaching Program (IBIASTM), implicit bias training for health sciences students, faculty, and research teams, and a 3-day Anti-racism and DEI Teaching Institute for SON faculty. Dr. O’Connor received the School of Nursing’s student-nominated Excellence in Promoting Diversity Through Teaching in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021 and Excellence in Graduate Teaching in 2022.
Kenya Beard, EdD, AGACNP-BC, CNE, ANEF, FAAN
Inaugural Dean and Chief Nursing Officer, Mercy University School of Nursing
Dr. Kenya Beard, EdD, AGACNP-BC, ANEF, FAAN, is the Inaugural Dean and Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy University School of Nursing and past chair of the New York State Board of Nursing. As a 2012 Macy Faculty Scholar committed to strengthening workforce diversity and advancing health equity, she founded the Center for Multicultural Education and Health Disparities and propagated research and best practices to improve health outcomes. She later served as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement and co-produced healthcare disparity segments on WBAI-FM for over 400,000 listeners. More recently, she co-authored and established the nation’s first Nurse Faculty Fellow’s program.
Dr. Beard’s diversity efforts span over 30 years and resulted in her being invited to co-create the Josiah Macy Foundation’s 2018 ground-breaking document, Improving the Environment for Learning in the Health Professions. Dr. Beard is an innovative thought leader who has never withdrawn from the challenge of mitigating disparities in health care. She co-authored the Commission to Address Racism in Nursing’s 2022 foundational report titled Racism in Nursing and continues to serve as a commissioner. Her discourse Leading in a Race-Conscious Society is supported by the Harvard Macy Institute’s Program for Educators in the Health Professions. To address racism in research, she co-authored the National Academy of Medicine’s Perspectives Dismantling Systemic Racism and Advancing Health Equity Throughout Research. She recently co-edited The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Global Applications to Advance Health Equity book to support the operationalization of health equity.
Whether consulting with schools on designing a multicultural curriculum, leading a million-dollar workforce diversity grant, serving as a reviewer for the Future of Nursing’s 2020-2030 report, cocreating the New York State Action Coalition’s Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit for NY State, or advancing equity as an Advisory Board Member for the NY Academy of Medicine’s Health Equity Scholars, she has continuously amplified the ideals of DEI and its role in improving health outcomes. She serves on the editorial board for the American Journal of Nursing and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Nursing, and Academy of Nursing Education.
Deborah C. Stamps, EdD, MBA, MS, RN, GNP, NE-BC, CDE®, FAAN
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Deborah Stamps Consulting, LLC
Dr. Deborah Stamps is the founder and chief executive officer of Deborah Stamps Consulting, LLC. Dr. Stamps has over 30 years of progressive health care leadership and is an internationally recognized authority on workforce development, diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, nursing education, and leadership. She has held a variety of roles, from LPN, RN, chief nursing officer, vice president of quality, patient safety, and innovation to founding president of the Rochester General College of Health Careers and the inaugural chief diversity officer at Rochester Regional Health.
Dr. Stamps created the professional academic workforce (PAW) model to advance the educational and economic mobility of underrepresented minorities in nursing through establishing partnerships between health care, community, and academic organizations. Dr. Stamps has published in peer-reviewed journals on the innovative, collaborative nurse leadership model, the Chief Nursing Officer Council, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, workforce development, and academic clinical practice partnerships. Dr. Stamps is a 2023 Academy of Nursing Fellow and the recipient of the Center for Nursing NY Driscoll Award.
Dr. Stamps earned her AAS in nursing from Monroe Community College, BSN from SUNY College at Brockport, MS, and the gerontological nursing practitioner at Nazareth College, an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology, and an EdD from St. John Fisher College. She is nationally certified as a Nurse Executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®) through the Institute for Diversity System at the Society for Diversity. Dr. Stamps became an independent certified coach, teacher, and speaker with the John Maxwell Team.