For Healthcare professionals.

Learn the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. Find out how to play your part in improving both the healthcare and clinical research industry and outcomes for patients.

Why is diversity important?

If we don’t test drugs and therapies on diverse groups of people, we’ll never truly know if they work for everyone who may need them. And that doesn’t just mean that some communities may not benefit, it could also result in some people experiencing harmful side effects. The lack of diverse representation in clinical research isn’t safe, and it isn’t right.

Everyone should have the same opportunities, the same access to healthcare, and the same level of care. Everyone should feel included, welcome, seen, heard. There’s no excuse for inequity.

WHO ARE WE TAlKING ABOUT?

When we talk about diversity, we mean all groups who are underrepresented in clinical research. This includes women and gender minorities, minoritised ethnic groups, people with disabilities, older people, LGBTQ+ groups and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Click through aisha’s presentation to reveal insights

Of the 270,000 people who signed up to the NHS vaccine registry for COVID-19 clinical research studies, 4% (11,000) were from an Asian or Asian British background.

Less than 1% (1,200) were from a Black African, Black Caribbean, or Black British background. This is despite the fact that patients from Asian and Black ethnic groups made up 15.2% and 9.7% of critically ill patients.

For a large proportion of the last century, clinical research has tested on mainly males at every stage of the drug development process.

This includes the use of male cells in biomedical research, male animals in animal studies, and male patients in clinical studies. The result? Treatments and healthcare that has been designed and tested on men, has then been applied to women.

Research has shown that people from the LGBTQ+ community commonly experience inappropriate comments regarding their sexuality. The lack of inclusive language can mean that people feel like health services aren’t “for them”. This results in lower engagement with healthcare services, which translates into poorer care.

Evidence shows that transgender individuals experience inequality that often stems from stigma and limited understanding, leading to significant barriers in terms of accessing healthcare services.

People living in the most deprived areas spend nearly a third of their lives in poor health, compared with only about a sixth for those in the least deprived areas.

Of the 270,000 people who signed up to the NHS vaccine registry for COVID-19 clinical research studies, 4% (11,000) were from an Asian or Asian British background.

Less than 1% (1,200) were from a Black African, Black Caribbean, or Black British background. This is despite the fact that patients from Asian and Black ethnic groups made up 15.2% and 9.7% of critically ill patients.

For a large proportion of the last century, clinical research has tested on mainly males at every stage of the drug development process.

This includes the use of male cells in biomedical research, male animals in animal studies, and male patients in clinical studies. The result? Treatments and healthcare that has been designed and tested on men, has then been applied to women.

Research has shown that people from the LGBTQ+ community commonly experience inappropriate comments regarding their sexuality. The lack of inclusive language can mean that people feel like health services aren’t “for them”.

This results in lower engagement with healthcare services, which translates into poorer care.

Evidence shows that transgender individuals experience inequality that often stems from stigma and limited understanding, leading to significant barriers in terms of accessing healthcare services.

People living in the most deprived areas spend nearly a third of their lives in poor health, compared with only about a sixth for those in the least deprived areas.

HOW TO IMPROVE DIVERSITY.

It’s not enough to discuss the lack of diversity and inclusion. It’s time to step up and take real action, to do and be better. Learn how we can help you make important changes now.

Press play to find out more.

TAKE ACTION, DEMAND DIVERSITY.

Improving diversity, inclusion and equity, requires action. There are things you can do right now, that will make a very real difference.

Make noise about what you believe in and what you learn.

Educate your workplace and team.

Create a welcoming environment for everyone.

Address issues of bias quickly and openly.

Encourage diverse applicants.

Encourage students of minority ethnic backgrounds to take advantage of academic support programmes.

Listen to what everyone has to say.

Conduct pay equity reviews.

Recruit and promote from a diverse point of view.

Create a robust mentorship program.

Consistently train and engage employees on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Make sure benefits and programmes are inclusive.

Increase accountability and transparency.

Develop inclusive leadership skills.

Ensure the teams engaging in top-level discussions and making decisions are diverse.

Pay attention to how all people are treated.

TRAINING FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM.

Take the first steps to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in your practices today.

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