Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Implicit Bias Skill Building Sessions for Maternal Health Care Professionals

Introduction Maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States are marked by gross disparities linked to individual bias and systems‐level factors. Implicit bias training is one strategy to address these disparities, and several states now require such education. Although evidence‐based strategies to mitigate bias exist, these are not commonly integrated into training opportunities in clinical settings or evaluated for their impact on learners. We designed and evaluated an implicit bias skill building training program to address this gap. Methods We used a quasiexperimental, multimethod evaluation to assess the outcomes of our program: reach, participant satisfaction, knowledge and acknowledgment of bias and its impacts, as well as behaviors to mitigate one's own and others’ biases. Survey and qualitative data from internal hospital facilitators provided added details about program satisfaction. Results People who participated in didactic implicit bias training reported being more aware of their own and others’ biases and reported using more mitigation strategies than those who did not participate in any such training. Participants in the didactic training and at least one implicit bias skill building session reported using more mitigation strategies than people who completed the didactic training alone. Participants agreed that the training was relevant and motivated them to change their behavior. Discussion Our results suggest there is potential value in adding skill building activities to maximize the impact of implicit bias training efforts.