243 - Exploration of Pediatric Residents’ Perspectives on Anti-Racism Curricula: A Qualitative Study

Poster Number: 243
Publication Number: 243.333

Jessica C. Martin, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Mountain View, CA, United States; Rebecca Johnson, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA, United States; Baraka D. Floyd, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States; Lahia Yemane, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Jessica Hippolyte, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, United States; Monique quinn, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, United States; Aisha Barber, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States; Chineze Ebo, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Margaret N. Jones, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Ndidi Unaka, CCHMC, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Rebecca Blankenburg, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States; Sarah L. Hilgenberg, Lucile Packard Children's Hosp, Stanford, CA, United States

Background: Racism is a public health crisis. Recently, residency program leadership has prioritized developing anti-racism curricula nationally. Unfortunately, there are currently no published studies of residents’ perspectives to guide building anti-racism curricula.

Objective: To elicit resident perspectives on the content and qualities of a meaningful anti-racism curriculum.

Design/Methods: We performed an IRB-approved, multi-institutional qualitative study. We conducted a total of six focus groups of pediatric residents from self-identified underrepresented in medicine (UIM) and non-UIM backgrounds at three pediatric residency programs with >15% UIM residents (Stanford, Cincinnati Children’s, and Children’s National) between February and June 2021. We developed focus group guides based on literature review and expert consensus.  We facilitated focus groups virtually, audio recorded, and transcribed them verbatim. Three authors (including at least one UIM author) reviewed each transcript and used modified grounded theory to develop codes which we then organized into categories and themes through constant comparison. We did a member check with participants to verify themes.

Results: One UIM and one non-UIM focus group were conducted at each institution, including a total of 19 UIM and 21 non-UIM residents. We elicited 7 core themes: 1) anti-racism education is critical to residents’ development as a competent physician; 2) experiences with racism during residency training are pervasive, with UIM residents highlighting that they experience and observe these events and non-UIM residents highlighting that they observe them; 3) all healthcare providers should learn about anti-racism; 4) it is helpful to have educators with lived experiences and those with learned experiences with racism in medicine, and it is valuable to learn from people outside of medicine; 5) the strong desire to learn tangible and action- oriented strategies to advance anti-racism as physicians in clinical practice and in our institutions 6) the need to invest in anti-racism education, through safe spaces, protected time, and financial resources; and 7) the importance of psychological safety of UIM residents coupled with promoting discussion and learning with each other.  Conclusion(s): By understanding resident perspectives on how to best learn about anti-racism, we can create more impactful anti-racism residency curricula nationally, with a common goal of providing more equitable care for patients and improving the culture of medicine.
Jessica Martin Stanford CV pdf.pdf