Provider Implicit Bias & African American Female Veterans Within the Veterans Healthcare Administration

Abstract

There is a lack of understanding of how implicit bias in VHA healthcare providers affects the delivery of healthcare services to African American Veterans thus leading to health disparities in this population. Specifically, there is a lack of understanding of this phenomenon from the view of African American female Veterans who sought mental health care from the VA. The aims of this study were to 1) determine if there is an existence of implicit bias from VHA mental health providers to African American female Veterans, 2) understand African American female Veterans’ perceptions of VHA mental health providers based on their interactions, and 3) compare the lived experiences of African American female Veterans who were seen by VHA mental health providers. The overarching Research Question: Do African American female Veterans’ have experiences of implicit bias in their interactions with VHA mental health providers?

Using a phenomenological qualitative analysis approach with five African American female Veterans, the researcher was able to identify four qualitative themes: 1) Mental Health Service Delivery, 2) Provider Belief System About African American Female Veterans, 3) VA Mental Health Providers Lack the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities to Provide Mental Health Care to African American Female Veterans, and 4) The Impact of Microaggressions on African American Female Veterans. Based on the results of this study the following were determined 1) there is an existence of implicit bias from VHA mental health providers to African American female Veterans, 2) we better understand African American female Veterans’ perceptions of their VHA mental health providers based on their interactions, 3) there is a shared lived experience of the phenomenon (implicit bias) from VHA mental health providers, and 4) there is a failure of VHA to address the needs of AA female Veterans despite VHA policy and mandates.