Impacts of Microaggressions

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Headshot of Skye McKennon , PharmD, BCPS, CSM-GEI
Skye McKennon
PharmD, BCPS, CSM-GEI
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Let’s begin our exploration of the impacts of microaggressions using primary literature. We will consider research conducted by Anderson and colleagues in health science students. This cross-sectional study assessed health science student experiences of microaggressions and how these experiences influenced student mental health. The study: 

  • Included health science learners throughout the United States. 
  • Measured depression (using the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire or PHQ-2). 


More details on the study design can be found here. 

Question

What percentage of study participants reported experiencing at least one microaggression in health science school? 

27%

Incorrect

Try again

48%

Incorrect

Try again

76%

Incorrect

Try again

99%

Correct!

34% reported experiencing a microaggression almost daily.  

Question

Using the graph below, which themes were microaggressions most frequently attributed to? Please select the three most frequent.  

The following figure illustrates the correlation between microaggression score and depression. 

Question

What do the results presented in Figure 2 suggest? 

Other research indicates experiencing microaggressions can:

  • Cause mental health effects.

  • Create physical health problems.

  • Deplete trust in the healthcare system.

  • Strain relationships.

  • Cause energy to be diverted away from learning and/or productivity.

  • Internalize feelings of worthlessness and heightened feelings of vulnerability.

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Microaggressions Introduction

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Response to Microaggressions

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