LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Strengthening Family Medicine’s Role in Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity

Johnathan E. Henderson, MD | Octavia Amaechi, MD | José E. Rodriguez, MD

Fam Med. 2023;55(3):213-213.

DOI: 10.22454/FamMed.2023.375894

Return to Issue

To the Editor:

We were pleased to read the article entitled “Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity in Academic Family Medicine,” by Jacobs et al, which describes the diversity, inclusion, and health equity (DIHE) infrastructure of academic family medicine departments. 1 Considering the racial inequities in health care, it is encouraging to see that family medicine is playing a prominent role in addressing DIHE in academia. In a 2020 report, when compared with all other specialties, family medicine had the highest proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) department chairs (16.7%). 2 This shows our commitment in family medicine to be leaders in diversity. As a result, there have been efforts to implement strategies and resources that address microaggressions 3 and increase URM in academic medicine. 4 Although there are some reassuring responses in this survey, we note that this study survey is limited by the absence of demographic information of the department chairs who filled out the survey. Even though there is mention that demographic information can be collected in the future, the absence of race/ethnicity data of department chairs limits the interpretation of the results. Without the race/ethnicity data of the respondents, we are not sure if the responses of URM chairpersons for family medicine are sufficiently represented in the group. Also, knowing the demographics of the DIHE officers (for those programs that have them) may influence the interpretation of the responses of the survey. Our life experiences color how we see diversity efforts. Chairpersons who do not experience racism, sexism or other forms of oppression may favorably view their DIHE efforts, while those who do, specifically URM chairs, may see the same efforts in a different light. It is hard to know how to analyze or weigh the data in this survey without knowing the demographics.

The data from this survey is especially useful, namely because it shows where we are in our DIHE journey and indicates how far we still must go within our own specialty. As the numbers of minorities increase in our society as a whole, 5 family medicine can lead the way, recruiting and training URM physicians to serve these populations. We encourage every department and institution to do an assessment, provide the infrastructure, and institute a strategic plan to address our deficiencies in DIHE within academic family medicine. 1 Then, and only then, will we be able to be a stronger influence in the medical community at large and lead by example.

References

  1. Jacobs CK, Douglas M, Ravenna P, et al. Diversity, inclusion, and health equity in academic family medicine. Fam Med. 2022;54(4):259-263. doi:10.22454/FamMed.2022.419971
  2. Xierali IM, Nivet MA, Rayburn WF. Diversity of department chairs in family medicine at US medical schools. J Am Board Fam Med. 2022;35(1):152-157. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2022.01.210298
  3. Sandoval RS, Dunleavy S, Afolabi T, et al. Equity in medical education: addressing microaggressions and discrimination on the wards. Med Teach. 2022;44(5):551-558. doi:10.1080/0142159X.2021.2006617
  4. Coe C, Piggott C, Davis A, et al. Leadership pathways in academic family medicine: focus on underrepresented minorities and women. Fam Med. 2020;52(2):104-111. doi:10.22454/FamMed.2020.545847
  5. Roman Y. The United States 2020 Census data: implications for precision medicine and the research landscape. Per Med. 2022;19(1):5-8. doi:10.2217/pme-2021-0129

Lead Author

Johnathan E. Henderson, MD

Affiliations: Atrium Health Floyd Family Medicine Residency, Rome, GA

Co-Authors

Octavia Amaechi, MD - Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency, Spartanburg, SC

José E. Rodriguez, MD - University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT

Fetching other articles...

Loading the comment form...

Submitting your comment...

By Myers  /  Posted 2/13/2023

PURE NATURAL CURE FOR HSV-1&2, HIV, HPV, BLOOD PRESSURE, CANCER AND DIABETES BY DR OSATO HERBAL MEDICINE. HIS WEBSITE: https://osatoherbalcure.wordpress.com.....The doctors keep saying there is no cure for herpes and making people believe that there is no cure. I'm here to inform everybody that there is a cure. There is a cure for Genital Herpes and I was cured from Genital Herpes by Dr Osato with his herbal medications. I got diagnosed with herpes June 2022 and ever since then I have been looking for a cure. I was reading about herpes on Youtube and i saw a comment on how Dr Osato cure HERPES and HIV with herbs on the comment section, i was surprise and i contact him on the email they provided on the comment and i explain my problem to him and he also prepare the herbs and send it to me which i use for two weeks as i was instructed by Dr Osato and after 2weeks i went to the hospital for a blood test and the result was Negative and my doctor confirm with me that am fully cured from genital herpes. I'm so grateful to Dr Osato.You can also reach Dr Osato on his email: OSATOHERBALCURE@GMAIL.COM or you can text and whatsapp him on +2347051705853.. His website is osatoherbalcure.wordpress.com

By mark hold  /  Posted 7/11/2024

One faithful day as i was watching a video on you tube i saw a comment of one MR PAUL HAVERSACK testifying of this great herbal healer doctor Moses Buba,That helped him enlarge his manhood .i was shocked and happy, so i quickly visited his website and emailed him within 30 mins he got back to me and told me all i need to buy and i did so after 4 days i received his herbal medicine ,he gave me instructions on how to use it ,as i am speaking to you people now after using the cream for just two weeks my manhood size is 10 inches long and 8.0 girth ,,am so happy and grateful for his work in my life thank you so much Doctor Moses buba ,,i also learnt he has cure for LOW SPERM COUNT,PREMATURE EJACULATION,ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION,HIV/AIDS VIRUS,DIABETES 1/2,HERPES DISEASE,CANCER,and lots more website:https://bubaherbalmiraclem.wixsite.com/website Facebook page ;https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559577240930

Downloads & Info

Share

Related Content

Tags

Searching for articles...