(558) Implicit Bias; Strategies to Increase Equitable Oral Health Care Access & Outcomes

Juliette Daniels, Ed.D.

Juliette C.  Daniels, Ed.D., M.A., serves as the Associate Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Management at the University Of Detroit Mercy School Of Dentistry and School of Optometry. In this role, Dr. Daniels is the senior student affairs officer responsible for all students enrolled in the dental, dental hygiene, and graduate specialty programs at the School of Dentistry and students enrolled in the optometry program at the School of Optometry. As a presenter, Dr. Daniels’ expertise is in impostor syndrome, suicide prevention, mental health advocacy & awareness, diversity, equity & inclusion, higher education leadership, and fostering student success in post-secondary education. Dr. Daniels’ current research includes ongoing and planned studies of the impact of mitigation strategies to cope with impostor syndrome, factors that influence dental hygiene student wellness, and levels of burnout in dental residency programs. She serves as course director for the first-year seminar course for dental students and as an instructor in the dental ethics and professionalism curriculum. In recent years she has presented at several conferences, including the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Annual Session, ADEA Fall Meetings, American College Personnel Association, and the NASPA-Student Affairs Educators regional and national conferences. Dr. Daniels is a Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Jesuit Leadership Institute graduate, and a QPR Institute suicide prevention protocol trainer. 

This course will explore how implicit bias impacts healthcare providers and patient care
outcomes. Implicit Bias encompasses the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Although each of us carry unconscious bias, this course will focus on how self-awareness of our held biases can pave the way for more equitable patient care outcomes. Themes will include implicit bias, cultural humility, bias recognition and reduction of inequity. Participants will learn strategies for reducing disparity in our individual communities and our systems overall will be explored.

Course Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the course participants will be able to:  

 Define implicit bias, unconscious bias, and health equity
 Recognize how bias impacts health equity, and race-based health outcomes 
 Integrate self-awareness of one’s own unconscious bias to improve patient care outcomes, reduce disparity, and further professional growth