The Role of Standardized Patient Programs in Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: A Narrative Review

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Medical Simulation
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

Background:

• Integrating EDI into health professional training is a key institutional objective.
• Standardized patient programs (SPPs) are increasingly utilized but their role in EDI is not well-defined.
• A theoretical model and literature synthesis are presented to guide EDI training using SPPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize the literature on the use of SPPs for EDI in health sciences education.
• To present a theoretical model for implementing SPPs in EDI training.
• To identify key themes and approaches in existing research.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases (PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar) from January 2000 to October 2019.
• Studies were included if they described SP education involving EDI and reported empirical data on design, delivery, or effectiveness.
• A narrative review and synthesis of 17 included studies were performed.

Main Results:

• Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, with most focusing on cultural competence (53%), communication with diverse patients (29%), or health inequity (18%).
• Common approaches included portraying diversity (71%) or using learning objectives supported by diversity (29%).
• Key themes identified were improving cultural competence, enhancing communication with diverse patients, and highlighting health inequalities.

Conclusions:

• Existing SP education addresses specific EDI issues, but programmatic approaches are limited.
• Further research is needed to understand the challenges, effectiveness, and outcomes of EDI-based SPPs.
• This review offers insights for institutional approaches to EDI training using SPPs.