Reducing Bias during COVID-19 using the Crawford Bias Reduction Theory & Training
Even for the most seasoned professional cultural factors are likely to elicit emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. Everyone has biases related to culturally held assumptions, biases, and values; attitudes related to ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender; and world-views including one's political, religious, and moral views. Early data regarding the impact of COVID-19, shows higher rates of infection and fatality related to class, race, and gender.
While the physical impact of COVID-19 has been the priority for medical professionals, professionals in other helping professions must consider the educational, financial, psychological impact of COVID-19 on families with young children. Professionals working with these families must move beyond explorations about intentional bias, to increasing their awareness and reduction of the impact of bias during the era of COVID-19.
This training increased professionals' awareness of triggers, manifestations, effects, of such biases, while providing concrete and systematic methods reduce reactions through case examples, discussion, and experiential exercises. Special attention was given to reducing bias during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why use the Crawford Bias Reduction Theory & Training Approach?
In recent years, multicultural trainings have focus on concepts such as implicit bias, cultural humility, white privilege, internalized oppression, and micro-aggressions. While understanding these concepts are crucial to becoming culturally competent, knowledge is insufficient. The next phase of multicultural trainings calls for trainers to offer concrete skill development that can be implemented in the fast-paced settings such as community behavioral health clinics, hospitals, primary health care, and schools. Furthermore, skills need to be systematic and able to be implemented when experiencing elevated levels of emotions that are often accompanied with processing cultural bias, prejudice, and racism. Finally, training participants must be provided with a training environment that fosters respect and safety yet inspires authenticity and in-depth extracting out of cultural biases, prejudices, and racism that folks are so often shamed into concealing. The Crawford Bias Reduction Training/Theory provides a systematic approach to reducing biases, in a not judgmental, and positive environment.