TY - JOUR
T1 - Embracing unity at OMERACT
T2 - Valuing equity, promoting diversity, fostering inclusivity
AU - Maxwell, Lara J.
AU - Wright, Grace C.
AU - Schultz, Grayson
AU - Grosskleg, Shawna
AU - Barton, Jennifer L.
AU - Campbell, Willemina
AU - Guillemin, Francis
AU - Hofstetter, Catherine
AU - Shea, Beverley J.
AU - Simon, Lee S.
AU - Adebajo, Adewale
AU - Barnabe, Cheryl
AU - Goel, Niti
AU - Hurley, Patricia
AU - Nikiphorou, Elena
AU - Petkovic, Jennifer
AU - Tugwell, Peter
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/6
Y1 - 2024/6
N2 - Objective: To increase awareness and understanding of the principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) within Outcome Measures in Rheumatology's (OMERACT) members. For this, we aimed to obtain ideas on how to promote and foster these principles within the organization and determine the diversity of the current membership in order to focus future efforts. Methods: We held a plenary workshop session at OMERACT 2023 with roundtable discussions on barriers and solutions to increased diversity within OMERACT. We conducted an anonymous, web-based survey of members to record characteristics including population group, gender identity, education level, age, and ability. Results: The workshop generated ideas to increase diversity of participants across the themes of building relationships [12 topics], materials and methods [5 topics], and conference-specific [6 topics]. Four hundred and seven people responded to the survey (25 % response rate). The majority of respondents were White (75 %), female (61 %), university-educated (94 %), Christian (42 %), spoke English at home (60 %), aged 35 to 55 years (50 %), and did not report a disability (64 %). Conclusion: OMERACT is committed to improving its diversity. Next steps include strategic recruitment of members to the EDI working group, drafting an EDI mission statement centering equity and inclusivity in the organization, and developing guidance for the OMERACT Handbook to help all working groups create actionable plans for promoting EDI principles.
AB - Objective: To increase awareness and understanding of the principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) within Outcome Measures in Rheumatology's (OMERACT) members. For this, we aimed to obtain ideas on how to promote and foster these principles within the organization and determine the diversity of the current membership in order to focus future efforts. Methods: We held a plenary workshop session at OMERACT 2023 with roundtable discussions on barriers and solutions to increased diversity within OMERACT. We conducted an anonymous, web-based survey of members to record characteristics including population group, gender identity, education level, age, and ability. Results: The workshop generated ideas to increase diversity of participants across the themes of building relationships [12 topics], materials and methods [5 topics], and conference-specific [6 topics]. Four hundred and seven people responded to the survey (25 % response rate). The majority of respondents were White (75 %), female (61 %), university-educated (94 %), Christian (42 %), spoke English at home (60 %), aged 35 to 55 years (50 %), and did not report a disability (64 %). Conclusion: OMERACT is committed to improving its diversity. Next steps include strategic recruitment of members to the EDI working group, drafting an EDI mission statement centering equity and inclusivity in the organization, and developing guidance for the OMERACT Handbook to help all working groups create actionable plans for promoting EDI principles.
KW - Core outcome set
KW - Diversity
KW - Health equity
KW - OMERACT
KW - Outcome measures
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U2 - 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152422
DO - 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2024.152422
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85187231133
SN - 0049-0172
VL - 66
JO - Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
JF - Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
M1 - 152422
ER -