Rahal Harman K, Tabibian James H, Issaka Rachel, Quezada Sandra, Gray Darrell, Balzora Sophie, Yang Liu, Badiee Jayraan, May Folasade
Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Am J Gastroenterol. 2022 Dec 1;117(12):1954-1962. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000001984. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
In the setting of increasing attention to representation in medicine, we aimed to assess current perspectives of racial and ethnic workforce diversity and health care disparities among gastroenterology (GI) and hepatology professionals in the United States.
We developed and administered a 33-item electronic cross-sectional survey to members of 5 national GI and hepatology societies. Survey items were organized into thematic modules and solicited perspectives on racial and ethnic workforce diversity, health care disparities in GI and hepatology, and potential interventions to enhance workforce diversity and improve health equity.
Of the 1,219 survey participants, 62.3% were male, 48.7% were non-Hispanic White, and 19.9% were from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine. The most frequently reported barriers to increasing racial and ethnic diversity in GI and hepatology were insufficient representation of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups in the education and training pipeline (n = 431 [35.4%]), in professional leadership (n = 340 [27.9%]), and among practicing GI and hepatology professionals (n = 324 [26.6%]). Suggested interventions were to increase career mentorship opportunities (n = 545 [44.7%]), medical student opportunities (n = 520 [42.7%]), and program and professional society leadership roles for underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups (n = 473 [38.8%]).
Our survey explored imperative and timely perspectives on racial and ethnic representation and health equity among professionals in GI and hepatology. The findings should inform future interventions to address workforce diversity and establish priorities toward improving health equity, ultimately serving as a springboard for professional societies, academic institutions, and other organizations that aim to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in our field.
在对医学领域代表性问题日益关注的背景下，我们旨在评估美国胃肠病学（GI）和肝病学专业人员对种族和族裔劳动力多样性以及医疗保健差异的当前看法。
我们开发并向5个全国性胃肠病学和肝病学协会的成员进行了一项包含33个项目的电子横断面调查。调查项目被组织成主题模块，征求了关于种族和族裔劳动力多样性、胃肠病学和肝病学领域的医疗保健差异以及增强劳动力多样性和改善健康公平性的潜在干预措施的看法。
在1219名调查参与者中，62.3%为男性，48.7%为非西班牙裔白人，19.9%来自医学领域代表性不足的背景。在胃肠病学和肝病学领域增加种族和族裔多样性最常报告的障碍是，在教育和培训渠道中代表性不足的种族和族裔少数群体的代表性不足（n = 431 [35.4%]）、在专业领导层中（n = 340 [27.9%]）以及在执业胃肠病学和肝病学专业人员中（n = 324 [26.6%]）。建议的干预措施包括增加职业指导机会（n = 545 [44.7%]）、医学生机会（n = 520 [42.7%]）以及为代表性不足的种族和族裔少数群体提供项目和专业协会领导角色（n = 473 [38.8%]）。
我们此次调查探讨了胃肠病学和肝病学专业人员关于种族和族裔代表性以及健康公平性的重要且及时的观点。这些发现应为未来解决劳动力多样性问题的干预措施提供参考，并确定改善健康公平性的优先事项，最终为旨在增加我们领域的多样性、公平性和包容性的专业协会
