Reducing Implicit and Explicit Bias

Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion across the tripartite mission of patient care, research and education. With regard to research, embedding principles of equity, vitality and inclusion from study inception through publication leads to more innovative, creative science that improves health across diverse communities.

The Committee to Reduce Implicit and Explicit Bias in Research met regularly during Fall 2020 to discuss potential strategies and initiatives to support the primary goal of reducing implicit and explicit bias in research from our Institutions.  The Committee has made recommendations for systems-level changes to identify and minimize racism, sexism and other forms of bias in research design and reporting.

The goals of this process are both to provide support to studies that may be sensitive, and also to raise awareness among investigators about the potential for implicit and explicit biases.

As part of this process, Principal Investigators are now required to complete and attach the Reducing Implicit and Explicit Bias in Research form as part of the initial submission in INSPIR. This is prompted by a mandatory question in the Initial Review Submission Form.

The responses to the questions in this form will be reviewed by the Department Chair/Section Chief at the time of routing sign-off, with the goal of ensuring that the potential for bias is minimized.

If you have any questions about this process and/or completing this form, please contact Dr. Megan Bair-Merritt at Megan.Bair-Merritt@bmc.org. For further information, please also see the full Report from the Committee to Reduce Implicit and Explicit Bias in Research here or below:

Report from the Committee to Reduce Implicit and Explicit Bias in Research