THE EXPERIENCES OF UNITED STATES EMERGENCY NURSES RELATED TO WITNESSED AND EXPERIENCED BIAS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to obtain a broad view of the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and lived expe-riences of emergency nurses regarding implicit and explicit bias. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive, sequential mixed -methods approach using online surveys and focus groups to generate study data. Two validated instruments were incorpo-rated into the survey to evaluate experiences of microaggres-sion in the workplace and ethnocultural empathy. Focus group data were collected using Zoom meetings. Results: The final sample comprised 1140 participants in the survey arm and 23 focus group participants. Significant differ-ences were found in reported experiences of institutional, struc-tural, and personal microaggressions for non-white vs white participants. Respondents who identified Christianity as their religious group had lower mean scores on items representing empathetic awareness. Respondents who identified as nonhe-terosexual had significantly higher mean total Scale of Ethno-cultural Empathy scores, empathetic awareness subscale scores, and empathetic feeling and expression subscale scores. Thematic categories that arose from the focus group data included witnessed bias, experienced bias, responses to bias, impact of bias on care, and solutions. Discussion: In both our survey and focus group data, we see evidence that racism and other forms of bias are threats to safe patient care. We challenge all emergency nurses and insti-tutions to reflect on the implicit and explicit biases they hold and to engage in purposeful learning about the effects of individual and structural bias on patients and colleagues. We suggest an approach that favors structural analysis, intervention, and accountability.