Examples of Frameshifts in Teaching About Health Disparities With a DEI and Antiracism Perspective
| Content Areaa | Current Curriculum Approach | DEI and Antiracism Curriculum Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | Blacks are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic Whites; Blacks are 40% more likely to have hypertension and less likely to have hypertension controlled.33 | Ensure that race is described as a social construct and discuss how structural forces such as access to a healthy diet, access to health care, and the impact of everyday discrimination affect the incidence of hypertension and heart failure. |
| Endocrinology, nutrition, or metabolism | Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and/or obesity. | Discuss the effects of social determinants of health, such as lack of access to physical places to exercise, food insecurity, and food deserts in historically marginalized communities, especially on those living with diabetes and/or obesity. |
| Pulmonary | Black and Hispanic/Latinx children in low-income urban neighborhoods have higher rates of asthma. | Discuss the effects of pollution, mold in the home, and other climate and health inequities on respiratory disorders such as asthma in historically marginalized communities as a result of systemic racism, redlining, and proximity of resources in resource-poor areas. |
| Oncology | Black women are more likely to die of breast cancer. | Ensure that students are aware of the impact of systemic racism, residential segregation, and environmental racism on the differential incidence of breast cancer. |
DEI = diversity, equity, and inclusion.
↵a In all content areas, faculty should discuss how the biases of physicians and other health care professionals can lead to the differential treatment of patients according to gender and race.