Structural racism and implicit bias are key drivers of poor healthcare outcomes among ethnoracially minoritized patient populations. There is specific evidence that racism is an important driver of health inequities among youth. For example, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color youth experience disproportionate rates of delayed diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder, over diagnosis of conduct disorder, and under diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In adult psychiatry, this is seen in over-diagnosis of Schizophrenia among Black adults, over-utilization of antipsychotics with long-term medical consequences, and the under diagnosis and treatment of depression. There is a strong need for antiracism interventions targeting implicit racial bias amongst clinicians. Putting antiracism into practice can be a challenging task due to cognitive processes, such as cognitive dissonance, which often prevent clinicians from acting according to their core values. Cognitive-behavioral frameworks have been used successfully to address prejudiced thoughts, feelings, and behaviors but have yet to be applied to clinicians. This work aims to develop and pilot a cognitive-behavioral frameworks to a web-based antiracism intervention tailored to psychiatry clinicians in training and determine feasibility and acceptability. 

The goal of the research projects is (1) to identify systemic barriers and risk factors associated with racial/ethnic disparities in the genetic testing of patients with intellectual disability and comorbid severe mental illness using analysis of electronic health records (EHR) and (2) to determine the acceptability of genetic testing in a community psychiatry setting using secondary analysis of existing data following a pilot genetic testing intervention.

This study examined resident physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding eating disorders in racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identity minority populations.