PASE Program

Implicit Bias in the Trauma Resuscitation Bay

This project examines disparities in trauma care within the trauma resuscitation bay, with a focus on how implicit bias may influence clinical decision-making and patient treatment during high-acuity encounters.

Project Leads

  • UCLA Faculty PI: Catherine Juillard, MD, MPH
  • UCLA Faculty Co-I: Jordan Rook, MD, PhD

Staff

  • Vickie Mays, PhD, MSPH – Professor in Psychology and Public Health, UCL; Director Brite Center for Science, Research & Policy
  • Susan Cochran, PhD, MS – Professor of Epidemiology, UCLA; Fielding School of Public Health
  • Kai-Wei Chang, PhD – Associate Professor, UCLA; UCLA CS, Co-Director UCLA DataX AI Technology Center
  • Alina Arseniev-Koehler, PhD – Assistant Professor, Purdue University; Sociology and Public Health
  • Christina Chance – PhD Candidate, UCLA; Computer Science
  • Daniel Carrera – Co-Investigator, UCLA; Research Technology Group

Approach

This study uses a retrospective, multisite analysis of trauma registry and patient-level data to evaluate patterns of care in the trauma resuscitation bay. The project examines key clinical outcomes — including use of physical and chemical restraints, administration of analgesia and language used in clinical documentation — to identify potential disparities across patient populations.

The study also evaluates how these patterns change following implementation of the American College of Surgeons trauma-informed care curriculum, providing insight into the impact of structured training on reducing bias and improving care delivery.

Impact

This work establishes measurable indicators of implicit bias in trauma care, advancing the field beyond perception-based research to data-driven evaluation of disparities. By identifying differences in treatment patterns — particularly among women and patients of color — the study highlights critical opportunities for improving equity in high-stakes clinical environments.

Importantly, the evaluation of trauma-informed care training provides early evidence on how targeted interventions can reduce disparities and improve provider decision-making. Findings from this work inform broader efforts to integrate equity-focused practices into trauma systems and support future multi-institutional research aimed at standardizing equitable care across trauma centers.