Joy Cox’s research while affiliated with Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and other places

Introduction: Weight bias is pervasive in health care and can lead to inadequate care for people with higher weight. However, few medical schools offer training on mitigating weight bias and incorporating body diversity into clinical care. Methods: As part of a course for second-year medical students, we developed and implemented a 3-hour multimodal educational session on mitigating weight bias. Didactics included content on body diversity and addressing weight bias, followed by a facilitated case discussion in small groups focused on debunking common myths related to weight. Assessment consisted of an open-content quiz and evaluation of a postsession survey. We performed a thematic analysis of the essay quiz responses and evaluation survey results. Results: Three hundred fifty-three students participated in academic years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. In the postsession quiz, students described several learning points, including understanding environmental influences on body size, improving communication by reducing weight bias, and strengthening the patient-provider relationship. In the postsession evaluation, students reported that their knowledge and skills had improved with respect to the learning objectives, with means of 4.0-4.1 on a 5-point Likert scale. Areas for suggested improvement included more time for discussion and more guidance on weight-inclusive care. Discussion: This multimodal educational session on weight bias was successful in meeting the stated learning objectives. Future work will consist of building on this content and extending future iterations to residents and attendings, with the goal of disrupting harmful assumptions and improving access to holistic, evidence-based care for all people, regardless of size.

Background Anti-Black racism is prevalent in medicine, and anti-racism training is needed in medical education. One such training is the Presence 5 for Racial Justice (P5RJ) Curriculum which covers evidence-based anti-racism communication strategies that promote health equity for Black patients. The P5RJ Curriculum was developed using feedback from clinicians and trainees with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) experience. In this study, we identify themes in recommended anti-racism language and phrases that surveyed clinicians and trainees use to promote racial justice and health equity in clinical care for Black patients. Methods Secondary analysis of survey responses to identify themes in qualitative data. Dataset: Survey responses of specific phrases for anti-racism communication based on P5RJ Curriculum feedback. Population studied: N = 50 respondents (27 clinicians, 17 medical trainees, 6 unreported) recruited through convenience sampling and listservs of clinicians with DEI experience. An inductive qualitative analysis was performed on survey responses to identify emerging themes. Results Emerging themes from survey responses reflected four communication practices: “Inquiry” was the predominant practice (59%), followed by “Empathy” (25%), “Statements of Allyship” (9%), and “Self-Accountability” (8%). Conclusion Inquiry and empathy may be predominant communication practices when addressing anti-Black racism in medicine. There is an opportunity to expand anti-racism communication tools with statements of self-accountability and allyship. Future research is necessary to analyze the patient voice on clinician communication practices that promote anti-racism in clinical care.

Objective: To identify communication practices that clinicians can use to address racism faced by Black patients, build trusting relationships, and empower Black individuals in clinical care. Data sources: Qualitative data (N=112 participants, August 2020 to March 2021) collected in partnership with clinics primarily serving Black patients in Leeds, AL; Memphis, TN; Oakland, CA; and Rochester, NY. Study design: This multi-phased project was informed by human-centered design thinking and community-based participatory research principles. We mapped emergent communication and trust-building strategies to domains from the Presence 5 framework for fostering meaningful connection in clinical care. Data collection methods: Interviews and focus group discussions explored anti-racist communication and patient-clinician trust (n=36 Black patients; n=40 non-medical professionals and n=24 clinicians of various races and ethnicities). The Presence 5 Virtual National Community Advisory Board guided analysis interpretation. Principal findings: The emergent Presence 5 for Racial Justice (P5RJ) practices include: 1) Prepare with intention by reflecting on identity, bias, and power dynamics; and creating structures to address bias and structural determinants of health; 2) Listen intently and completely without interruption and listen deeply for the potential impact of anti-Black racism on patient health and interactions with healthcare; 3) Agree on what matters most by having explicit conversations about patient goals, treatment comfort and consent, and referral planning; 4) Connect with the patient's story, acknowledging socioeconomic factors influencing patient health and focusing on positive efforts; 5) Explore emotional cues by noticing and naming patient emotions, and considering how experiences with racism might influence emotions. Conclusion: P5RJ provides a framework with actionable communication practices to address pervasive racism experienced by Black patients. Effective implementation necessitates clinician self-reflection, personal commitment, and institutional support that offers time and resources to elicit a patient's story and to address their needs.

Context: The Presence for Racial Justice project leverages the Stanford Presence 5 framework to present anti-racism communication practices that promote clinician trust-building for Black patients in primary care. With the racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection rates, an assessment of Black patients' perspectives around COVID-19 care is required to promote health equity in current and future health crises. Objective: To compile clinician communication strategies for promotion of patient understanding and agency concerning Black patients' perceptions of COVID-19 vaccine, treatment and testing. Study design: Qualitative study employing inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Setting: Four primary care clinics primarily serving Black patients in Oakland, CA; Rochester, NY; Leeds, AL; and Memphis, TN. Population Studied: 37 Black patients, recruited through convenience sampling by their primary care clinician for 45-minute semi-structured audio-recorded interviews. Outcome Measures: Emergent themes around Black patient perceptions and motivations for seeking/delaying COVID-19 vaccine, treatment, and testing, and their ideal medical guidance on COVID-19 care. Results: Due to historic mistreatment of Black patients within the healthcare system, medicine, and research, there is a high prevalence of mistrust amongst the Black patient interviewees towards the safety, efficacy, and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine compared to existing vaccines. Patients feared racial discriminatory treatment and intended to wait for the general population, authority figures, and White patients to receive the vaccine first. Many patients believed personal protective behaviors (e.g., mask wearing, staying home, taking supplements) would be more effective than receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. They expressed a preference for receiving COVID-19 medical care in the comfort of their homes due to high costs and risks of maltreatment, death, and loneliness. Conclusion: Black patients hinged their vaccination decisions on having enough time to observe vaccine rollout and discussion with their clinicians. Relating new medical interventions (ie., COVID-19 vaccine) to accept medical approaches (ie., Flu vaccine) and being aware of historical distrust in medicine can inform clinician efforts to empower and provide excellent care for Black patients moving forward.

Context: Anti-Black racism is firmly rooted in US healthcare, but many clinicians do not have the tools and language to question their biases and address racism in clinical practice, eg biased communication practices such as "non-compliance" in medical documentation. Objective: Presence 5 for Racial Justice (P5RJ) leverages the Presence 5 patient-provider communication framework to identify anti-racism communication practices that support trusting relationships between physicians and Black patients and empower Black individuals in clinical care. Study design: For this multi-phased community-based participatory research (CBPR) overseen by an advisory board of clinicians and patients at four community clinics, we conducted a literature review, interviews with Black patients, clinician small-group discussions, and design thinking interviews with non-medical professionals. We mapped emergent communication practices to Presence 5 domains to create P5RJ. Setting: Four primary care clinics primarily serving Black patients in Oakland CA; Rochester NY; Leeds AL; Memphis TN. Population Studied: Total 113 participants (40 non-medical interviews, 37 Black patients interviewed, 12 advisory board members, 24 clinicians in discussion); 30 reviewed articles. Outcomes: Strategies on how providers, through communication and connection in the clinical visit, can navigate and address structural, institutional, and personally mediated forms of racism faced by Black patients. Results: P5RJ practices included: 1) Prepare with intention by reflecting on identity, bias, and power dynamics; and creating structures to address emergent bias and social determinants of health; 2) Listen intently and completely by using focused interpersonal listening without interruption and deep listening for racism impacts; give patients time and space to tell their story; 3) Agree on what matters most by having explicit conversations about patient goals, treatment comfort, consent, and referral planning; 4) Connect with the patient's story by acknowledging socio-political factors influencing patient health and focusing on positive efforts/events to encourage patient agency; 5) Explore emotional cues by noticing and naming patient emotions and considering how racial trauma might influence these emotions. Conclusion: P5RJ practices offer strategies to reflect on clinician biases, address racism and known gaps in care for Black patients and promote health equity in their clinical care.

Introduction: Anti-Black racism has strong roots in American health care and medical education. While curricula on social determinants of health are increasingly common in medical training, curricula directly addressing anti-Black racism are limited. Existing frameworks like the Presence 5 framework for humanism in medicine can be adapted to develop a novel workshop that promotes anti-racism communication. Methods: We performed a literature review of anti-racism collections and categorized anti-racism communication practices using the Presence 5 framework to develop the Presence 5 for Racial Justice Workshop. Implementation included an introductory didactic, a small-group discussion, and a large-group debrief. Participants evaluated the workshop via an online survey, and we analyzed the resulting qualitative feedback. Results: A total of 17 participants took part in two workshops, with nine of the participants responding to the evaluation survey. Themes that emerged from survey responses included strengths of and improvements for the workshop structure (protected time for anti-racism discussion, dialogue between learners and faculty) and content (specific phrases and language, practicing self-reflection). Discussion: The workshop provides participants with a semistructured discussion around the five anti-racism communication practices. Barriers to implementation include incorporating the workshop into existing curricula and ensuring diverse learners. Barriers to evaluating the workshop include the low survey response rate. Recommendations to improve the workshop include using case-based discussion and varying the workshop structure according to institutional needs. Next steps include an implementation study to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of the workshop.

Importance: Overwhelming evidence that anti-Black racism is associated with health inequities is driving clinician demand for antiracism practices that promote health equity. Objective: To investigate how nonmedical professionals address personally mediated, institutional, and internalized racism and to adapt these practices for the clinical setting. Design, setting, and participants: Using an approach from human-centered design for this qualitative study, virtual qualitative interviews were conducted among 40 professionals from nonmedical fields to investigate antiracism practices used outside of medicine. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to identify latent themes and practices that may be adaptable to health care, subsequently using an established theoretical framework describing levels of racism to interpret and organize themes. Convenience and purposive sampling was used to recruit participants via email, social media, and electronic flyers. Main outcomes and measures: Antiracism practices adapted to medicine. Results: Among 40 professionals from nonmedical fields, most were younger than age 40 years (23 individuals [57.5%]) and there were 20 (50.0%) women; there were 25 Black or African American individuals (62.5%); 4 East Asian, Southeast Asian, or South Asian individuals (10.0%); 3 individuals with Hispanic, Latinx, or Spanish origin (7.5%); and 3 White individuals. Participants described personally mediated, institutional, and internalized antiracism practices that may be adaptable to promote health equity for Black patients. Personally mediated antiracism practices included dialogue and humble inquiry, building trust, and allyship and shared humanity; clinicians may be able to adopt these practices by focusing on patient successes, avoiding stigmatizing language in the electronic health record, and using specific phrases to address racism in the moment. Institutional antiracism practices included education, representation, and mentorship; in the health care setting, clinics may be able to develop staff affiliate groups, focus on improving racial health equity outcomes, and conduct antiracism trainings. Internalized antiracism practices centered on authenticity; clinicians may be able to write positionality statements reflecting their identity and the expertise they bring to clinical encounters. Conclusions and relevance: This study's findings suggest that antiracism practices from outside the health care sector may offer innovative strategies to promote health equity by addressing personally mediated, institutional, and internalized racism in clinical care.