Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.com
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
implicit bias, implicit bias in emergency medicine, cultural bias, cultural bias in emergency medicine, bias reduction strategies
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Background
Cultural and implicit bias have been widely studied as contributors to disparities in healthcare delivery. Prior literature has largely conceptualized bias as an individual-level cognitive phenomenon occurring within clinician–patient interactions. However, emergency departments (EDs) function as complex adaptive systems (CAS), characterized by time pressure, uncertainty, cognitive load, and environmental noise. These conditions may contribute to the expression of implicit bias in clinical care.
Objective
To reframe cultural and implicit bias in the ED as both an individual cognitive property as well as a system-dependent and modulated phenomenon and to propose that the operational state of the ED influences the likelihood and magnitude of bias expression in clinical decision-making.
Methods
Conceptual synthesis of foundational implicit bias literature and application of complexity science principles to emergency department operations.
Conceptual Results
Implicit bias is supported by decades of psychological and clinical research. Within a CAS framework, ED operational states may influence cognitive processing modes. Under turbulent conditions, clinicians are more likely to rely on rapid, heuristic-based cognition, increasing the potential influence of implicit associations.
Conclusion
Cultural bias in the ED is not solely an individual cognitive phenomenon but a system-modulated variable. Interventions should include both individual bias reduction strategies and system-level design approaches that stabilize clinical environments and support reflective decision-making.
Disciplines
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences
When Individual Implicit Bias Meets ED System Turbulence: Expanding the Implicit Bias and Cultural Bias Conceptual Frame to Support Reflective Decision Making Through Both Individual Bias Reduction Strategies As Well As System-Level Design Approaches
Background
Cultural and implicit bias have been widely studied as contributors to disparities in healthcare delivery. Prior literature has largely conceptualized bias as an individual-level cognitive phenomenon occurring within clinician–patient interactions. However, emergency departments (EDs) function as complex adaptive systems (CAS), characterized by time pressure, uncertainty, cognitive load, and environmental noise. These conditions may contribute to the expression of implicit bias in clinical care.
Objective
To reframe cultural and implicit bias in the ED as both an individual cognitive property as well as a system-dependent and modulated phenomenon and to propose that the operational state of the ED influences the likelihood and magnitude of bias expression in clinical decision-making.
Methods
Conceptual synthesis of foundational implicit bias literature and application of complexity science principles to emergency department operations.
Conceptual Results
Implicit bias is supported by decades of psychological and clinical research. Within a CAS framework, ED operational states may influence cognitive processing modes. Under turbulent conditions, clinicians are more likely to rely on rapid, heuristic-based cognition, increasing the potential influence of implicit associations.
Conclusion
Cultural bias in the ED is not solely an individual cognitive phenomenon but a system-modulated variable. Interventions should include both individual bias reduction strategies and system-level design approaches that stabilize clinical environments and support reflective decision-making.