The results of this study found that some negative bias towards a patient's socioeconomic standing -- particularly from less-experienced dental students -- can result in "differential treatment" (e.g., less attentive care) (Carson, 675). But by "heightening awareness" of potential biases (that are based on accent or perceived lower socioeconomic status, or on racism) among dental students, through educational initiatives, stereotyping and bias can be reduced if not eliminated (Carson, 678). Another suggestion (Carson, 678-79) in terms of ensuring the quality of treatment is to "inhibit social categorical thinking." This would require not treating the patient as "unique" but rather as a "collections of symptoms."
Works Cited
Carson, Lloyd, Drummond, John, and Newton, James. (2004). Social Perception in the Clinical
Dental Encounter: The Matched-Guise Technique...
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