(373) Scanning for Bias: Developing a Reflective Process Tool for Pharmacotherapy Course Case Studies

Objective : Pharmacotherapy case studies (PCSs) should explicitly consider social determinants of health (SDoH) and their impact on clinical outcomes. Instead, PCSs may perpetuate stereotypes that impede this training objective. The purpose of this study was to design a bias scanning tool to help faculty evaluate the use of patient demographics and SDoH within PCSs so that these cases can prepare future culturally intelligent pharmacists.

Methods: An initial iteration of the tool was created and adapted using peer-reviewed articles and existing bias checklists. The tool was built into Qualtrics and prompts faculty to consider clinical relevance and potentially harmful stereotypes of included patient factors (i.e. age, race, ethnicity, gender, mental health, substance use, incarceration, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, rural residence, sexual orientation, weight, and nationality). Two students and two faculty members independently pilot tested the tool using a collection of PCSs from one pharmacotherapy course and compared results for discrepancies.

Results: Of the seven case studies reviewed, the following themes and feedback were identified. In the first iteration of the tool, the questions were found to be nonspecific leading to multiple interpretations for the same question. Questions were edited to provide additional clarity to help guide the user. Edits included adding specific parameters for patient demographics and providing examples of bias and stereotypes. Additional edits to the tool allowed for a more streamlined survey process through the incorporation of more advanced survey settings and the reduction of textboxes to encourage participation.

Conclusions: This study is ongoing and the feedback and recommendations from the initial pilot iteration of the bias scanning tool have been important for informing next steps for piloting implementation.