Within the medical and clinical sciences, community health is a significant area of research focusing on the preservation, safety, and enhancement of demographic groups and communities’ health status. Primary healthcare services seek to decrease risk factors and strengthen the promotion of a healthy society. This essay explains how a nurse could recognize bias within the community, ways of addressing the issue, and strategies to use in reducing it.
Therefore, as a community nurse, it is difficult to accept that healthcare practitioners may be biased against any of their patients at a given moment and under any circumstance. It happens not because they are immoral but because they are human, and it is a subconscious human trait that frequently interferes with best nursing practices. An intrinsic prejudice does not specifically imply that one is racist or is not qualified for the job. Vamstad and Gordon (2018) say that recognizing unconscious bias or stereotype means one might have certain feelings about populations, appearances, or mannerisms, which need to be addressed and dealt with to provide the best possible care. Vamstad and Gordon (2018) claim that implicit bias operates unintentionally and unconsciously. This type of prejudice does not need the perceiver to support it or pay attention to its speech.
Moreover, factors such as language barriers, work status, and even geographic intonations can cause people to speculate that a patient has specific characteristics, behaviors, or beliefs which may not be acceptable to them. Specific accents, particular pieces of clothing, or ways of communicating, can cause one to label a person with unwarranted qualities. They can equivalently trigger an immediate moral judgment or withhold certain levels of compassion for the patients who are short-tempered. As a nurse, the best way to address this issue is to demonstrate compassion and reverence for the intrinsic integrity, importance, and specific qualities of each patient.
Therefore, the way to avoid bias and stereotypes is by talking to patients and learning more about them. Understanding cultural differences can also help healthcare personnel become aware of any unconscious bias and overcome it. Improved knowledge is critical for increasing consciousness, understanding, combating, and reducing the prevalence of unconscious bias. For healthcare professionals and nurses, education can be incorporated into standardized teaching methods. Another solution is to include a curriculum that emphasizes empathy in medical institutions and the presence of discriminatory practices.
References
Hamdard, N., & Haneef, M. (2016). Knowledge, attitude, and practices: Assessing community-based health care interventions in an urban setting. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 4(1), 150-155. Web.
Vamstad, B., & Gordon, M. (2018). Integrating public affairs information strategy with organizational practices in healthcare delivery organizations. Journal of Public Affairs, 18(4). Web.