Conducting a Patient Panel Discussion to Highlight the Intersection of Humanism and Health Equity

Background: Medical humanism is defined as “attitudes and actions that demonstrate interest in and respect for the patient that addresses the patient's concerns and values.” While research shows physicians' implicit biases about minority patients affects their care, there is less research on the possibility of an “empathy gap” for these patients. Encouraging humanism in medicine could be one way of countering bias which may exacerbate disparities in outcomes for Black patients experiencing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Patients as teachers is a pedagogical technique that has been noted to be impactful in changing attitudes of clinicians. In honor of Dr. Sidney Kobrin, a highly esteemed nephrologist and humanist who unexpectedly died in 2023, we conducted a panel discussion which aims to honor his legacy of humanism while furthering our understanding of how to practice humanism in a way that incorporates an understanding of health disparities and social determinants that drive these disparities Methods: We conducted a panel discussion of 2 patients and 1 staff member who worked extensively with Dr. Kobrin, including self-identified Black individuals with CKD and women. This 60-minute panel discussion ocurred during a larger Humanism symposium with an audience of 200+ people. Questions explored panelist perspectives on aspects of humanism embodied by Dr. Kobrin, how these aspects of humanism address power differentials, medical mistrust, and barriers to care, and how can clinicians incorporate these principles into their daily practice. Afterwards, a 20 minute reflection session was conducted with 3 audience members. Results: Recordings of the panel discussion and reflection session will by analyzed and coded by two independent coders who will generate a summary of broad themes regarding humanism's role in medicine and in addressing health disparities. We will assess whether this panel discussion might lead to new ideas on how to provide more humanistic, equitable care. Conclusion: This project will bring together people from different racial and socioeconomic groups and different power structures to identify broad themes of humanism that have the potential to address health inequities. This experience could be especially empowering for patients of marginalized backgrounds who may not see themselves represented in their providers.