A new policy statement from Northwestern Health Sciences University addresses the "Racial Inequities in Integrative Healthcare," including the impact of racism on health disparities, race and diversity underrepresentation in integrative health care, and the unique potential for complementary and integrative health care providers to address such disparities. Central to the policy statement is a call to action featuring eight key components, excerpted as follows:
- Build Trust: "[Take] what is said by patients of color at face value, recognizing how one's own bias may enter into the therapeutic relationship, and choosing to prioritize care over judging the individual or the situation."
- Community-Driven CIH Programs: "CIH providers and organizations should partner with communities of color to advance the health and wellbeing of diverse groups, increase training opportunities, and improve access to CIH services."
- Serve Communities of Color: "Every community has a unique set of social determinants that influence the health of its citizens. Authentically guiding an individual along a healthcare journey can only be achieved if the provider journeys alongside the community that individual identifies with."
- Improve Cultural Competence: "CIH providers must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to effectively care for communities of color. ... CIH academic institutions and programs should develop and implement curriculum and clinical experiences addressing the domains of cultural competence."
- Elevate Professionals of Color: The composition of leadership within CIH professions, including academic institutions and affiliated organizations, professional associations, regulatory and licensing boards, should reflect a diverse citizenry, and consider efforts to ensure equity and diversity a central tenant of their responsibility."
- Increase CIH Workforce Diversity: An important strategy to advance healthcare among communities of color is to actively recruit members from these communities to enter CIH professions."
- Inclusive Educational Environments: "CIH educational institutions should be purposeful in creating welcoming, supportive environments to support Black and other students of color. ... Curricula on disease and disease management should reflect their impact on Black persons, to include images in learning materials, case studies, and variations in presentation to accurately reflect the experiences among diverse races and genders."
- Dedicated Curriculum: "Curriculum in our CIH educational institutions, as well as continuing education for professionals, should correctly identify race as a social construct, and seek to dispel beliefs about biological or intrinsic differences between races. ... CIH educational programs should model civil discourse around racial bias, exploring the moral imperative of all healthcare providers to address social determinants of health and promote equitable healthcare within their spheres of influence."
The policy statement also includes a "commitment to action" in which NWHSU commits to:
- Respond to current needs of local Black communities in crisis by listening to lived experiences, establishing enduring partnerships with community leaders, and expanding health and wellness through integrative care.
- Undertake curricular mapping to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion competencies are reflected across programs and throughout the curricula.
- Review student recruitment strategies and staffing policies to cultivate an equitable, inclusive and diverse campus community.
- Support individuals from under-represented groups through diversity scholarships, to enable careers in integrative care and increase the presence of integrative care in communities in need.
- Create a digital library of storytelling to educate students, faculty, and clinicians about diverse local populations, and their relationship to integrative care.
- Develop systems to measure our progress with these commitments through metrics on our University dashboard.
The entire policy statement from the NWHSU Center for Healthcare Innovation and Policy is available as a downloadable PDF by clicking here.
