What is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Why is it Important?
By Nathalia Jimenez, MD, MPH
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
From the early 2000s, diversity and inclusion in the healthcare workforce and academia have been recognized as key drivers to improve individual and population health outcomes. But what is diversity and inclusion and does it really impact my daily practice?
Diversity is the recognition of individual differences. Inclusion is the act of including individuals who differ from each other on specific dimensions. While these definitions are simple, agreeing on which dimensions to include and how to bring everyone to the table is more challenging. Historically, these dimensions included age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and gender. More recently, domains such as language proficiency, sexual identity, physical abilities, religious beliefs, and veteran status are considered integral part of a holistic approach to patient care, education and research.
Additional domains that refer to the health care practice rather than the individual practitioner, such as geographical location and type of practice, are also relevant. It is important to recognize as well, that these domains are not present in isolation but often intersect within a single individual, which underscores the importance of a broad understanding of diversity and emphasizes the personal nature of it. But why is this important? Because inclusion of talented individuals from different backgrounds improves patient care, medical education and scientific advancement.
Research in this area shows, unequivocally, that a diverse healthcare workforce improves access and quality of care for all patients, especially for those who come from poor, minority, and underserved backgrounds. Our patient population is changing rapidly, and we should respond to this change in a timely fashion. As well, private and academic practices benefit from a diverse workforce. Diverse environments foster collaboration and improve individual and organizational performance.
The establishment of the new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee demonstrates SPA’s ongoing commitment to promote these values as a central part of its mission. It is the natural progression of prior diversity and inclusion efforts, such as the Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Initiative (WELI). With the support of the SPA Board and its leadership, our group is eager to promote diversity and inclusion in all activities and at every level of the Society. We have been charged to assess SPA's diversity make-up within its membership and leadership; to inform the board, its committees and sections about issues related to diversity and inclusion; and to advance the development of leadership skills, among those who are currently underrepresented within the Society.
To date, 25 members of SPA have joined the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. In this group we have pediatric anesthesiologists from academic and private practices with differences in racial, ethnic, gender, sexual identity, and religious backgrounds. All working towards a common goal: to promote equitable health care for diverse populations of patients and families and to ensure that views from different groups are included in SPA’s work. This is an open committee. We would like to encourage you to join our group or to share with us your ideas about diversity, equity and inclusion. You can e-mail Dr. Jimenez at nathalia.Jimenez@seattlechildrens.org
