Chugh Natasha, Kim Kain, Kelly-Hedrick Margot, Chisolm Margaret S, Balhara Kamna S
University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Dec 19;24(1):1499. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06532-6.
For learners underrepresented in medicine (UIM), a heightened sense of belonging may be critical to creating shared awareness of diversity and fostering an inclusive educational environment. Despite ongoing efforts from academic medical institutions to promote and retain diverse individuals, few studies have investigated the foundational role of pre-health professions education in shaping students' sense of belonging, and fewer still have leveraged the potential of arts- and humanities-based approaches in doing so. This study aimed to evaluate the perceived impact of race- and gender-diverse visual representations of health professionals on pre-health students' sense of belonging.
Twenty-eight pre-health professions students at one large undergraduate academic institution were randomized to one of two study groups. Each group participated in a visual arts-based workshop to discuss images depicting either gender- and race-diverse or non-diverse health professionals. All participants completed a pre- and post-workshop survey consisting of select items from the Professional Identity Questionnaire (PIQ), as well as an additional open-ended survey after viewing the images from the other study group. Changes in PIQ item scores were analyzed using chi-square statistics, and free-text survey responses underwent thematic analysis.
Although PIQ item score changes were not statistically significant in either group, both showed an overall directional increase that was more pronounced in the study group exposed to diverse images. Qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended survey items were grouped into four overarching themes: "Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) converges with other aspects of intersectional identity," "sense of belonging drives motivation," "perceptions of medicine are shaped early in training," and "cross-group exposure stimulates metacognitive thinking."
Integrating arts and humanities programming into pre-health professions education may help cultivate a sense of belonging among UIM students, providing a robust platform for the critical dialogues essential in advancing inclusivity within healthcare settings.
对于医学领域中代表性不足的学习者（UIM）而言，增强归属感对于营造对多样性的共同认知以及培育包容的教育环境可能至关重要。尽管学术医疗机构一直在努力促进和留住多元化的个体，但很少有研究调查健康职业前教育在塑造学生归属感方面的基础作用，利用基于艺术和人文方法的潜力进行此类研究的更是少之又少。本研究旨在评估健康专业人员的种族和性别多样化视觉呈现对健康职业前学生归属感的感知影响。
一所大型本科院校的28名健康职业前学生被随机分为两个研究组之一。每个组都参加了一个基于视觉艺术的工作坊，以讨论描绘性别和种族多样化或非多样化健康专业人员的图像。所有参与者在工作坊前后都完成了一项调查，该调查包括从专业身份问卷（PIQ）中选取的项目，以及在查看另一研究组的图像后进行的一项额外的开放式调查。使用卡方统计分析PIQ项目得分的变化，并对自由文本调查回复进行主题分析。
尽管两组的PIQ项目得分变化在统计学上均无显著差异，但两组都显示出总体上的方向性增加，在接触多样化图像的研究组中更为明显。对开放式调查项目回复的定性分析分为四个总体主题：“多样性、公平和包容性（DEI）与交叉身份的其他方面相融合”、“归属感驱动动机”、“对医学的认知在培训早期形成”以及“跨群体接触激发元认知思维”。
将艺术和人文课程纳入健康职业前教育可能有助于培养UIM学生的归属感，为推进医疗保健环境中的包容性所必需的关键对话提供一个强大的平台。
