Academic Review 2024

36 ST EDWARD’S, OXFORD

halved the recommended dosage of Zolpidem prescribed to women as the drug lingered longer in women’s blood than men’s causing next-morning drowsiness and cognitive impairment (Anwar, 2020). Studying sex differences is vital for patient safety. Historic events and myths shape the present, however we can learn from previous mistakes like nutritional experimentation on Indigenous children, testing gynaecological theories on enslaved Black women and the myth of hysteria. My research has shown to achieve fair and equal healthcare there are two things which must be done. The first is that healthcare providers must listen to patients’ symptoms especially when they are describing symptoms like pain which cannot be seen in an MRI scan. The other is to make sure that healthcare providers are aware of their biases and work towards reducing them. “ More trans women opt for private healthcare however some cannot afford it as it is expensive. ”

Trans women who were surveyed say that the NHS procedures for facial feminisation surgery, tracheal shave and progesterone are inadequate. More trans women opt for private healthcare however some cannot afford it as it is expensive. When accessing healthcare, we are aware that people of colour and disabled trans people experience racism, ableism, and transphobia. Transgender women are overlooked in healthcare because of both explicit and implicit bias.

How to reduce bias in healthcare Implicit bias can be reduced by using the implicit association test (IAT) in medical schools. IAT assessments ‘measure the strength of associations between concepts (e. g. Black people, gay people) and evaluations (e.g. good, bad) or stereotypes (e.g. athletic, clumsy)’ (Project Implicit, 2011). Even people with egalitarian beliefs may have implicit biases so taking the IAT would help all healthcare providers become aware of the biases that they hold. Medical schools should teach how to reduce implicit bias when working with patients and hospitals should have implicit bias and gender equality training. For gender equality to be achieved more women need to be included in policy making and leadership. It is essential that researchers keep women in all levels of clinical testing and observe what effect gender has on vaccines and medicine (Hillman, 2020). For example, in 2013 the FDA Conclusion After looking at both explicit and implicit bias, I think that implicit bias plays a bigger role in the discrimination faced by people of colour and women as implicit bias is caused by a lot of societal stereotypes which were created by misogyny and racism. Not all prejudice and discrimination are

the result of implicit bias. Implicit bias is not to blame for conscious bias in medicine. My strongest argument about why implicit bias is the main reason for discrimination in healthcare is the exclusion of women from drug trials and how implicit bias impacts decision making.