Practical Tips for Creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee: Experience From a Multicenter, Academic
Anand K Narayan1, Pamela W Schaefer2, Dania Daye3
1Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School Quality and Safety Officer, Division of Breast Imaging, Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Insights
This study offers a framework for radiology departments to establish diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committees. It provides practical guidance for creating effective DEI initiatives to address disparities in radiology.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging and Radiology
- Healthcare Management
- Health Equity
Background:
- Systemic racism and racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare, exacerbated by events like the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitate action in radiology.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committees are emerging in radiology departments to address these critical issues.
- A need exists for practical guidance on establishing comprehensive DEI committees within radiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a framework and practical recommendations for academic radiology departments to create effective DEI committees.
- To guide the development of institutionally aligned DEI committees that address disparities in radiology.
Main Methods:
- A strategic planning process was employed, defining vision, mission, goals, and strategies for DEI.
- Gap analyses, including internal and external research, were conducted.
- SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analyses were performed based on consultations with DEI leaders.
Main Results:
- A radiology department DEI committee was formed, structured with a steering committee and four task forces: education, research, patient experience, and workforce development.
- The committee's structure and charged initiatives align with institutional DEI goals and strategies.
- The process involved extensive research and collaboration with internal and external DEI experts.
Conclusions:
- This review offers a blueprint for academic radiology departments to establish comprehensive and institutionally aligned DEI committees.
- The provided framework supports systematic efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion within radiology departments.
Purpose:
Coronavirus disease 2019 and the publicly documented deaths of countless Black individuals have highlighted the need to confront systemic racism, address racial/ethnic disparities, and improve diversity and inclusion in radiology. Several radiology departments have begun to create diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committees to systematically address DEI issues in radiology. However, there are few articles that provide departments with guidance on how to create DEI committees to comprehensively address DEI issues in radiology. The purpose of this review is to provide readers with a framework and practical tips for creating a comprehensive, institutionally aligned radiology DEI committee.
Methods:
The authors describe key components of the strategic planning process and lessons learned in the creation of a radiology DEI committee, on the basis of the experience of an integrated, academic northeastern radiology department.
Results:
A hospital-based strategic planning process defining the DEI vision, mission, goals, and strategies was used to inform the formation of the radiology department DEI committee. The radiology department performed gap analyses by conducting internal and external research. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analyses were performed on the basis of consultations with institutional and other departmental DEI leaders as well as DEI leaders from other academic medical centers. This framework served as the basis for the creation of the radiology departmental DEI committee, including a steering committee and four task forces (education, research, patient experience, and workforce development), each charged with addressing specific institutional goals and strategies.
Conclusions:
This review provides academic radiology departments with a blueprint to create a comprehensive, institutionally aligned radiology DEI committee.
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