As part of our work on the Health Equality Partnership initiative on behalf of by Public Health Dorset and NHS Dorset, at the end of 2022 we spoke to 12 people from different backgrounds in the community who kindly shared with us what it is like to be different.

As a result we’re proud to share a sneaky peek at some of the videos we have been developing.

The videos will be included in a new online training package aimed at combatting unconscious bias being co-produced by CAN, Dorset Race Equality Council and Dorset Community Action working with colleagues from across health services.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious bias is the social stereotypes we have about people who are different to ‘us’. For instance, because of their race, gender, cultural background, body shape, sexual orientation and class or because they are disabled. We make judgments or decisions on the basis of our prior experience, our own personal deep-seated thought patterns, assumptions or interpretations, and we are not aware we are doing it.

A key aspect of the training is a series of short films we’ve produced where people share their lived experience of how unconscious bias has impacted on their lives. Hearing directly from people who have experienced being treated differently due to something they can’t change is very powerful and helps us all consider our actions.

You can hear some of these stories while the training is being developed and finalised.