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Can Training Help Reduce Hidden Bias Against Latinos, Minorities?


implicit bias

We already know that implicit bias harms quality of life for Latinos and other minorities. Implicit bias is the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions unconsciously. This bias can affect relationships from the doctor's office to the workplace. The good news? Many companies and organizations are making an effort to create change with implicit bias training! But what exactly does this training entail? Does it work? What is Implicit Bias Training? Implicit bias training, also called unconscious bias training, is gaining popularity in business world. This training teaches employees to be aware of their ingrained biases as well as strategies for blunting the effects of those biases, reports The Washington Post. “I think this is the ...

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Latinos Face Discrimination When Up for Promotion, Even in the Military


Discrimination military

Latinos historically face discrimination in the hiring and promotion processes. A few years ago, a Harvard study found that one-third of Latinos say they were discriminated against when applying for jobs (33%) or when being paid equally or considered for promotions (32%). Now a recent report says discrimination extends to military promotions. Latinos Rarely Promoted to High Military Ranks Latinos have a “proud and indeed enviable” record of military service. Today, the Latino share of the active-duty force has continued to rise. In 2015, 12% of all active-duty personnel were Latino, up from 9% in 2004, according to Pew Research. But between 1995 and 2016, only one Latino had become a three-star general, even as the number of active-duty Latino officers more than doubled, ...

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You May Be Biased and Not Know It (and Here’s How to Check)


implicit bias tests for skin tones of faces

Implicit bias, also known as unconscious bias, occurs when stereotypes influence automatic brain processing. We can be susceptible to inherent bias and not even know it. Fortunately, you can find out if you have such leanings. Implicit Bias Testing Harvard’s Project Implicit developed The Implicit Association Test (IAT). The test, created 20 years ago, measures social attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to realize. The various implicit bias assessments focus on gender, race, skin color, weight, and more. There is no Hispanic/Latino-focused test, though. Bias tests can expose one's implicit attitudes, of which they are unaware. For example, you may believe women and men should be equally associated with careers in scientific fields. Yet, your ...

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How to Dismantle 5 Ugly Drivers of Health Inequity



Health equity is when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible. Yet health inequity remains. Latinos, for example, face discriminatory policies and barriers to healthcare, social support, healthy food, and more. That's why we're proud to share A Blueprint for Changemakers: Achieving Health Equity Through Law & Policy, a new report from ChangeLab Solutions and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that can help communities advance a local agenda to ensure health equity for everyone. The Blueprint report offers key policies and legal strategies on five underlying realities behind health inequity: 1. Reduce Structural Discrimination Historic oppression, segregation, and bias create health inequity. Among Latinos, implicit bias impacts ...

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What is Implicit Bias and Why Should You Care?



Most people think they have no bias toward other people. But we all have preconceived notions or stereotypes that—beyond our control—affect our understanding, actions, and decisions about others. This is what experts call "implicit bias." Implicit bias can be good or bad. Either way, preference has enormous implications for the health of Latinos and all communities in our society. What Is Implicit Bias? Implicit bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions unconsciously, according to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. This kind of bias happens when stereotypes influence your brain processing. Studies show that your mind decides up to 10 seconds before you realize ...

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Racial Bias Still Infects the Doctor’s Office


doctor bias

In medical school, physicians are trained to exclude their own personal upbringings, and that of their patients, from clinical decisions. That doesn't always happen in reality. In fact, doctors are often susceptible to their unconscious bias, research shows. Unconscious bias, also known as "implicit bias," happens when automatic processing is influenced by stereotypes. These stereotypes then impact your actions and judgments. Doctors & Implicit Bias Many studies have shown that physicians—especially white physicians—have implicit preferences for white patients. Implicit bias can lead to false assumptions and adverse health outcomes. For example: Implicit bias is a major reason why Latino men are much less likely to receive optimal treatment for high-risk ...

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Latinos are More Likely to Face Police Discrimination While Driving



Latinos and other minorities are frequently subject to negative stereotypes. In fact, 78% of Latinos in the United States said they face discrimination. That number is even worse for blacks at 92%. A new Stanford University study shows the problem bleeds into the treatment minorities receive from law enforcement. The Open Policing Project (OPP) found that police stopped and searched black and Latino drivers with less basis of evidence than used in stopping white drivers, who are searched less often but are more likely to be found with illegal items. "Because of this analysis, we're able to get to that anecdotal story to say this is really happening," Sharad Goel, an assistant professor in management science and engineering at Stanford and a co-author of the study, told NBC ...

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4 Ways to Promote Health Equity for Greater San Antonio in 2019


biggive 2019 in san antonio for health equity and salud america at ut health san antonio

San Antonio is a vibrant, historic, still-growing city (63% Latino). But people here still face uphill health battles. They face diabetes, obesity, and inequitable access to quality medical care, education, income, and support. The good news is that community and school advocates are making a difference! And our program, Salud America! led by Dr. Amelie Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio, spotlights these heroes and enables action to improve local health! Advocates Making a Difference for San Antonio Health Here are some San Antonio heroes on our Salud America! website: Mental Health Support for City's Youngest Kids. Fred Cardenas helped build the Early Childhood Well Being (ECWB) at Family Service Association of San Antonio. ECWB intervenes early for kids ages 0-8 who ...

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New Study: Latinas in Texas Have the Worst C-section Outcomes


pregnant hispanic latina at the doctor for prenatal care

Latinas who live on the U.S. Southwest border have more surgical infant delivery rates than their peers in the rest of the country. Not only do those who reside on the border experience cesarean section, or C-section, more often, but Latinas have overall higher rates than white women, according to a New Mexico State University study. This was not the case six years ago. Jill McDonald, who serves as the director of the Southwest Institute for Health Disparities Research in the College of Health and Social Services at NMSU, told the Santa Fe New Mexican before 2013, Latinas had lower numbers than white women. “Now, Hispanic women are more likely to have a cesarean birth than non-Hispanic white women,” McDonald said. Maternal Disparities Latinas already suffer from ...

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