Non-negligible levels of implicit skin tone bias among Australian healthcare workers between 2007 and 2022: Analysis of subgroups and trends over time based on Project Implicit data

Abstract

Implicit (i.e. unconscious) racial biases held by health professionals negatively affect patient–practitioner communication and health outcomes. Implicit biases are typically assessed through implicit association tests (IATs). We extracted cross-sectional IAT data originating in Australia from two large publicly available data sets hosted by Project Implicit. In total, IATs were available from 1956 healthcare workers (1249 of European ethnicity; 829 professionals/technicians as opposed to support workers). All had participated between 2006 and 2022. Levels of implicit skin tone bias were found to be moderate according to Project Implicit guidelines and substantially greater than zero (d = 0.87). Participants of European ethnicity and older age scored higher, but there were no differences across occupation types (professional vs. support worker) or over years. Consistent with findings around the world, the findings highlight a need for interventions that could reduce implicit bias and thereby improve the healthcare experiences of people from minority groups.