Research Guides: Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

Diversity is the practice or quality of creating a community comprising people of different ages, cultural backgrounds, geographies, physical abilities and disabilities, religions, sexes, gender identities, sexual orientations, etc.

Equality means resources are provided so that all individuals have equal access (each person receives exactly the same resources in exactly the same amount).

Equity means that resources are distributed based on the tailored needs of a specific audience. Equity recognizes that some communities will need more—or different—access compared to other communities.

*Equity and equality do not have the same meaning. Equality is based on giving everyone exactly the same resources, while equity involves distributing resources based on the tailored needs of a specific population.

Inclusion is the act or practice of behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome. In the workplace, inclusion is the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.

-- Definitions provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

AAMC MedEdPORTAL - DEI Collection
Publications in this collection identify and address systemic biases, promote inclusive practices, and provide successful DEI initiatives to facilitate positive and sustainable change within the field that ensures all learners and patients can thrive.
Other AAMC MedEd Collections: Anti-Racism, Climate and Health, Interprofessional Education, Language-Appropriate Health Care, Opioids, Addiction and Pain, Telehealth
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) DEI Resources
The ACCME has the objective to "Facilitate understanding that incorporating the issues of DEI into all aspects of accredited education will benefit healthcare professionals and the patients they serve."
American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) EDI Program
Learn about AAMC resources, initiatives and publications and educational programming supporting equity, diversity and inclusion. See also the linked AAMC IDEAS Learning Series.
American Hospital Association (AHA) Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE)
IFDHE advances health equity, diversity, and inclusion by supporting hospitals, health care organizations, and the patients and communities they serve as a trusted partner by disseminating evidence-informed practices, resources and innovations that lead to sustainable transformation in health care.
California Medical Association (CMA) Cultural & Linguistic Competency and Implicit Bias Standards
The California Medical Association (CMA) believes cultural and linguistic competencies are essential to providing quality and accessible care, and also acknowledges that society has embedded and endemic structural racism and biases that affect the care that an individual receives. Therefore, continuing medical education accredited by the CMA addresses patient care factors where health disparities have been identified.
Keck School of Medicine REDI Council
Established in 2020, the Race Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council (REDI Council) in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences seeks to create and maintain a culture of learning and health promotion that empowers students, faculty, staff, and research participants of historically minoritized communities and uproots the manifestations of racism that appear in academia and health care.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine DEI Resources
Research in social science, medicine, and other fields can shed light on the factors that drive systemic racial inequities — not only in society at large, but also within the sciences, engineering, and medicine — with the goal of finding solutions based on evidence.
Re-Centering Medical Education: A Social Justice Resource List
Throughout history, the field of medicine has taught its students to pathologize bodies deemed as Other. As we begin to confront these lineages, many people remained pushed to the edges of priority. In reality, those who are commonly viewed as marginal to society represent a major core of the American patient population. This resource list asks us to re-center those who are seen as distinct, as special cases—people of color, queer and transgender/non-binary folks, people with disabilities, etc.—and place them at the forefront of our minds and practice as future or current physicians. We share this document with the claim that the following topics, issues, and histories are not supplementary, but rather fundamental to the study of medicine

"Diversity, Equity, Inclusion"[Mesh] (Medical Subject Heading) was added as an indexing term to PubMed in 2023.

This term falls under the concept "Cultural Diversity"[Mesh] introduced in 1996. Searching the broader concept of Cultural Diversity will also include Diversity, Equity, Inclusion articles. A simple keyword or "phrase" search on these terms in PubMed should also include the indexed articles.