Briar Cliff University Hosts “Achieving Cultural Awareness in Health Care: Building Relationships for Health Equity” Conference

April 20, 2023

Briar Cliff University hosted its “Achieving Cultural Awareness in Health Care: Building Relationships for Health Equity” conference Friday morning. The conference focuses on reducing health disparities by educating Siouxland students and healthcare professionals on the importance of providing evidence-based care to populations who come from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The conference allowed participants to define and recognize unconscious bias and how it may appear in healthcare work settings.

“Implicit Biases, also referred to as unconscious biases, are attitudes and beliefs about race, ethnicity, age, ability, gender, or other characteristics that operate outside awareness,” said Liz Rembold, Associate Provost of Student Success and Student Life at Briar Cliff. “As with any interaction, implicit bias can have adverse effects on the patient experience; By damaging patient-provider interactions, implicit bias can adversely impact health outcomes.”

Attendees had the opportunity at the end to participate in an open panel discussion with speakers Liz Rembold, Julian Lee, and the UnityPoint Health Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team to ask questions and offer insight on their DEI journeys in their respective work environments. The conference was sponsored by the Briar Cliff University Center for Interprofessional Education, Practice and Scholarship (CIEPS), allowing attendees to register for continuing education credits.