Confronting biases and stereotypes: Best practices in developing cultural competence in college public health education

Developing empathetic, compassionate, culturally competent public health practitioners committed to reducing health disparities is a vital part of higher education public health training yet not easily attainable through didactic educational approaches.  The experiential activity described here encourages students to examine how biases can affect access to healthcare and health outcomes for various populations. This demonstration/presentation will include a discussion of implementation considerations and learning outcomes.

Working in small groups, students rotate through newsprint sheets with various headings: (e.g.: All-American young woman; HIV+ 20-something; Large, heavy young woman; Male athlete; Muslim male; Pregnant teen; Quiet non-athletic male; Recent Mexican/Latino immigrant). They are instructed to record on each newsprint: “What this person looks like, their health behaviors and health problems.” Groups then return to their initial newsprint and read classmates’ responses.  They are then instructed to imagine they are the person listed on the newsprint and consider if the list accurately describes them and what barriers they would face if they do have health problems.

Debriefing unpacks assumptions, stereotypes, and belief systems and includes discussion of racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism in public health including barriers that must be overcome to improve health outcomes of diverse populations.  The impact of this activity can be profound, often as students recognize themselves in some of the stereotyped groups.  By pressing students to confront their own biases directly, this lesson helps them explore, on intellectual and emotional levels, the potential impact of those biases as they prepare to become members of the public health workforce.