This article was written by Patrice de Peiza, Manager, Special Projects, Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism, Ontario Health
In 2021, Ontario Health released the Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism Framework, which has since guided our work to improve equitable outcomes and experiences for all people in this province. One of the framework’s key areas of action is to represent and reflect Ontarians.
Visible representation of the people we serve is critically important in health care, both for clinicians and their patients.
Visible Role Models
I identify as a Black woman, and throughout my academic undertakings and careers as both a registered occupational therapist and naturopathic doctor, I never had professional role models who looked like me.
It is paramount that young people have visible role models who reflect their intersecting identities, so they can envision their own opportunities for success in diversified and inclusive workplaces. Seeing leaders who look like them nourishes their belief that they can be or achieve anything. For example, in March 2023, I engaged with other health care professionals from equity-deserving groups at an event to expose Black and other racialized high school students to careers in health-related fields. We need more events like this to open the world of possibilities to Black youth and to encourage them to seek out careers in the health professions. Ongoing efforts such as these will also help establish an upstream pipeline of future clinicians while simultaneously creating opportunities for patients to interact with health care providers who reflect their identities.
Within Ontario Health, we are working to improve visible representation across all levels of our organization. In 2022, we completed the first diversity survey of our staff. This anonymous survey collected some sociodemographic data elements and experiences of belonging at Ontario Health from team members. With this information, our organization is working to reduce barriers affecting recruitment, advancement and retention of team members from equity-deserving communities. We are also advancing our objective to foster an equitable, anti-racist, safe workplace and better understand how our workforce reflects the people we serve. For our Black team members, the Anti-Racism, Inclusion, Social Justice and Equity (ARISE) community of inclusion offers a safe space to connect, network and build community with one another.
Inclusive Care
While the work to build an inclusive and equitable health care system will never be finished, Ontario Health is collaborating with our health system partners to improve the provision of clinically appropriate and culturally responsive health care.
For example, the Black Health Plan is a strategy developed by community members, health leaders and academics in response to long-standing systemic health inequities experienced by Black populations. With guidance from this plan, the Ministry of Health invested $25 million to create the Peel Black Health and Social Services Hub, which will offer a range of health care and social services in the growing community of Peel. As another example of our work to reduce inequities in the delivery of high-quality care, we developed a quality standard for Sickle Cell disease, a condition which mostly affects racialized people, particularly those who identify as Black.
Conscious Commitment
As Canadians, we often shy away from discussing race, which is a social construct. Yet for Black populations, belonging to a racialized group can have devastating impacts on health due to the inequities experienced that can perpetuate mistrust. We must directly confront racism and discrimination throughout our health care system, and we all have a hand in improving health outcomes for underserved groups. There is beauty in diversity, and each of us must consciously commit to doing our part to provide inclusive and equitable health care for all people in Ontario.