Examining our lens: how bias heightens disparities in trauma research

Sydney Timmer-Murillo¹, Kathryn M Stadeli², Jacob Higgins³, Bethany L Strong⁴, Shayan Rakhit⁵, Brianna R Fram⁶, Garrett D Hall⁷, Anamaria J Robles², Tandis Soltani⁸, Rachael A Callcut⁹, Vanessa P Ho^{10

11

12}, Cynthia Lizette Villarreal¹³, Michelle A Price¹³, Susan E Cronn¹⁴; Summit on the Advancement of Focused Equity Research in Trauma (SAFER-Trauma) Group

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Summit on the Advancement of Focused Equity Research in Trauma (SAFER-Trauma) Group:
Richard D Betzold, Pamela Bixby, Michelle F Buehner, Rachael A Callcut, Lourdes Castañón, Susan Cronn, Marc A de Moya, Juan C Duchesne, Samir M Fakhry, Brianna R Fram, Garrett D Hall, Jacob Higgins, Vanessa P Ho, Arpana Jain, Benjamin Levi, Ashley N Moreno, Sarah N Pierrie, Michelle A Price, Shayan Rakhit, Anamaria J Robles, Carrie Sims, Tandis Soltani, Kathryn M Stadeli, Bethany L Strong, Shakeva Swain, Sydney Timmer-Murillo, Esther S Tseng, Cynthia Lizette Villarreal, Michaela A West, Tanya L Zakrison

Affiliations

¹ Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
² Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA.
³ University of Kentucky, College of Nursing Lexington, Kentucky, Kentucky, USA.
⁴ Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁵ Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship Center, Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
⁶ Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁷ ESO, Austin, Texas, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, USA.
⁹ Department of Surgery, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
¹⁰ Department iof Surgery, The MetroHealth System, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
¹¹ Center for Health Equity Engagement, Education, and Research, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
¹² Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Clevland, Ohio, USA.
¹³ Coalition for National Trauma Research, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

PMID: 40584750
PMCID: PMC12198817
DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2024-001452

Review

Examining our lens: how bias heightens disparities in trauma research

Sydney Timmer-Murillo et al. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2025.

. 2025 Jun 25;10(Suppl 4):e001452.

doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2024-001452. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Collaborators

Summit on the Advancement of Focused Equity Research in Trauma (SAFER-Trauma) Group:
Richard D Betzold, Pamela Bixby, Michelle F Buehner, Rachael A Callcut, Lourdes Castañón, Susan Cronn, Marc A de Moya, Juan C Duchesne, Samir M Fakhry, Brianna R Fram, Garrett D Hall, Jacob Higgins, Vanessa P Ho, Arpana Jain, Benjamin Levi, Ashley N Moreno, Sarah N Pierrie, Michelle A Price, Shayan Rakhit, Anamaria J Robles, Carrie Sims, Tandis Soltani, Kathryn M Stadeli, Bethany L Strong, Shakeva Swain, Sydney Timmer-Murillo, Esther S Tseng, Cynthia Lizette Villarreal, Michaela A West, Tanya L Zakrison

Affiliations

¹ Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
² Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA.
³ University of Kentucky, College of Nursing Lexington, Kentucky, Kentucky, USA.
⁴ Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁵ Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship Center, Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
⁶ Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁷ ESO, Austin, Texas, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, USA.
⁹ Department of Surgery, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
¹⁰ Department iof Surgery, The MetroHealth System, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
¹¹ Center for Health Equity Engagement, Education, and Research, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
¹² Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Clevland, Ohio, USA.
¹³ Coalition for National Trauma Research, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

PMID: 40584750
PMCID: PMC12198817
DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2024-001452

Abstract

Trauma research is an expansive discipline that informs injury prevention, best practices in care, and novel interventions. However, implicit bias, or the unconscious stereotypical beliefs about groups of people, can have profound implications for traumatic injury research. Several forms of implicit bias can emerge in trauma research, which deepens existing disparities based on race or ethnicity, sex, ability status, socioeconomic status, and other factors. This paper reviews how implicit bias affects the development of research and the application of findings, potentially leading to suboptimal care and misdirected preventive strategies in trauma. We present the recent dialogue and progress on implicit bias in research at the Summit on the Advancement of Focused Equity Research in Trauma (SAFER-Trauma) conference, an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded assembly of multiple disciplines which was convened to tackle the challenges involved in addressing disparities in traumatic injury. Through this review, we seek to generate momentum for action toward reducing implicit bias and establishing comprehensive equity-focused standards of trauma research and practice.

Keywords: Healthcare disparities; health policy; socioeconomic factors; vulnerable populations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

References

1. Center IPC Web-based injury statistics query and reporting system (WISQARS) 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars Available.
1. Haider AH, Weygandt PL, Bentley JM, Monn MF, Rehman KA, Zarzaur BL, Crandall ML, Cornwell EE, Cooper LA. Disparities in trauma care and outcomes in the United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2013;74:1195–205. doi: 10.1097/TA.0b013e31828c331d. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Villarreal CL, Price MA, Moreno AN, et al. Access, Delivery and Outcomes: the Summit on the Advancement of Focused Equity Research in Trauma (SAFER-Trauma) Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2025;10:e001430. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2024-001430. - DOI
1. Amodio DM, Devine PG. Stereotyping and evaluation in implicit race bias: evidence for independent constructs and unique effects on behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2006;91:652–61. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.91.4.652. - DOI - PubMed
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Examining our lens: how bias heightens disparities in trauma research

Collaborators

Affiliations

Examining our lens: how bias heightens disparities in trauma research

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources