Practical Approach to Improving Equity and Justice in Otolaryngology

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Themes of inequity and injustice are woven through the history of medicine. The national and specialty-wide conversation about these problems has become more open in the past few years, in parallel with major social movements around the world. These conversations have shed light on ways in which privilege, disadvantage, and systemic bias have contributed to diminished quality of medical care, particular among historically marginalized populations. We as otolaryngologists may wonder about what kinds of bias, whether implicit or explicit, may be affecting our patients or may be perpetuated in our own practices.

This interactive and discussion-based panel, hosted by national leaders in diversity/equity/inclusion in otolaryngology, will complement other panels addressing inequities in health care, with a specific focus on how systemic bias directly affects our patients and practices on a daily basis, and how individual practitioners can begin to address those biases. Many efforts to address bias and equity require long term, systems-level changes, but we will focus our discussion on what we as individuals can do in our daily lives and practices. Previous sessions have been notable for high audience involvement and active and lively discourse on these issues and audience member experiences.

Using case discussions, we will focus on racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ+ and ableism bias, including effects on provider-patient interaction, treatment recommendations, and adherence to these recommendations. We will also address issues of diversity, where inequities in the pathway of physician training, recruitment, hiring, and promotion can influence the providers a patient may see. These issues will be examined for both academic and non-academic practice settings.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 1: 1. Define the terms privilege, bias, equality, equity, inclusion, justice, intersectionality, and cultural humility. Summarize current knowledge of the effects of systemic bias on patient care.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 2: 2. Identify the effects of bias and inequity in the pathway of diversifying the healthcare workforce and describe ways to improve this pathway.

OUTCOME OBJECTIVE 3: 3. Describe real-world strategies for mitigating the effects of systemic bias that can be used in everyday practice.

BACKGROUND STATEMENT: This interactive session will be a safe and collaborative opportunity for audience members to explore the impact of systemic bias within otolaryngology. We will discuss concrete scenarios and practical advice for addressing and mitigating these inequities in daily practice.