Co-creating an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Strategy in a Pan-Canadian Health Data Research...

Area of Science:

• Population Health Research
• Health Equity
• Research Ethics

Background:

• Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) are critical for advancing population health research and addressing structural inequities.
• Limited guidance exists on developing replicable IDEA strategies for research organizations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail the process Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada) used to develop its IDEA Strategy.
• To offer a transferable model for other population health research organizations.

Main Methods:

• An iterative five-phase process was employed for strategy development.
• Key steps included creating a project charter, establishing shared governance, and utilizing professional facilitation.
• Visible executive sponsorship was crucial throughout the process.

Main Results:

• The resulting IDEA Strategy focuses on four interconnected action areas: Learning and Unlearning, Facilitating IDEA in Research, Cultivating Trust and Reciprocity, and Providing Leadership and Advocacy.
• The strategy aims to embed IDEA principles into organizational operations and research practices.
• HDRN Canada successfully transformed IDEA principles into an actionable framework.

Conclusions:

• HDRN Canada's experience provides a best-practice model for developing and implementing IDEA strategies in distributed research networks.
• This transferable model can guide population health research organizations in integrating IDEA across their operations and the broader research ecosystem.