The sound of bias: a study on Spanish accents and healthcare in Flanders
Stefania Marzo, Eva Gonzáles Melón & Antoon Cox (KU Leuven & Utrecht University)
This paper examines the attitudes of healthcare providers in Flanders, focusing on treatment disparities influenced by the Spanish accent in Dutch. Belgium’s history as a migration center has fostered a diverse demographic landscape that poses several societal challenges, including discrimination in the housing and labor markets (European Commission, 2023; UNIA, 2022). This study extends the exploration of these challenges in the healthcare sector (see Cox & Maryns 2021; Cox et al. 2021), by specifically examining attitudes of healthcare providers towards between patients with a Spanish accent.
Using an attitude experiment (verbal guise), the study assesses respondents’ attitudes toward hypothetical scenarios involving Spanish accented speakers. The scenarios were presented in two conditions – with and without the speaker’s name referring to his Spanish or Flemish background – to measure the effect of anonymity on attitudes. Dimensions analyzed included the perceived informational value and social status attributed to the speakers. Results indicate a persistent perception of lower status for speakers with Spanish accents, although the presence or absence of a name did not significantly increase these prejudices.
Furthermore, the paper examines whether these biases extend to medical decisions, specifically the issuance of sick notes. The results show no significant preference for native Flemish speakers over Spanish speakers; interestingly, Spanish speakers were slightly more likely to receive a sick note. This finding suggests that while societal biases against accents exist, they do not necessarily translate into discriminatory medical treatment.
This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of bias in professional settings. It highlights the complexity of discrimination within the Belgian health care system and suggests a disconnect between societal biases and professional medical behavior.
References
European Commission. (2023). Belgium: New and ongoing measures against housing discrimination. European Website on Integration. https://migrant-integration.ec.europa.eu/news/belgium-new-and-ongoing-measures-against-housing-discrimination_en
UNIA. (2022). More challenges at work for people of foreign origin in Belgium, still in 2022. https://www.unia.be/en/articles/more-challenges-at-work-for-people-of-foreign-origin-in-belgium-still-in-2022
Cox, A., & Maryns, K. (2021). Multilingual consultations in urgent medical care. The translator, 27(1), 75-93.
Cox, A., Iedema, R., Li, S., Sabbe, M., Salaets, H., & Dauby, N. (2021). Adding barriers to barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for interdisciplinary research on communication with migrant patients in the emergency department. European Journal of Emergency Medicine, 28(1), 5-6