The Implications of Mindsets and Biases in Behavioral Assessments for Disorders of Consciousness 0553

Mindsets are mental frameworks that direct an individual’s attention and motivation toward specific sets of associations and expectations. It is now known that pre-evidential mindsets often serve as “biases” that can affect the collection and interpretation of the information itself, thereby compromising the neutrality of the process of belief formation. These biases occur frequently in medical practice and may be less familiar to clinicians working with persons with disorders of consciousness (DoC). In this session, we will introduce the most common forms of biases and how they can affect the assessment of DoC. We will use a real-life scenario to demonstrate the impact on a patient’s diagnosis, prognosis, and care. Subsequently, we will propose debiasing strategies and advocate for a mindset of “setting the patient up for success” during the assessments. This session is intended to raise awareness of such phenomenon, propose management strategies, and facilitate further scientific investigations.