Underrepresented People Research Articles

Engaging under-represented oldest old in research: Anapproach for inclusive recruitment.

Those aged 80 years and over are the fastest-growing sector of the Australian population but are often excluded from research. Oldest old people living alone, in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and with ill health or dementia, face additional barriers that may hinder their participation in research. This paper contributes timely critical commentary on methodological and ethical approaches to engaging under-represented people in research. We draw on our experiences and reflections from a study of social exclusion of people aged 80 years and older living alone in government housing in Melbourne, Australia. We suggest key factors to facilitate representation of this population group in future research. These factors include using doorknocking to gain access, cultivating trust with participants and gatekeepers, and conducting face-to-face home interviews. We also interrogate ethical and safety issues for researchers and oldest old participants including the potential for informed consent protocols to exclude this population group. To avoid unintentionally excluding the oldest old, researchers need to consider older persons' self-determination and advocate for methods that ensure oldest old perspectives inform future healthy ageing planning and reduce possible health and well-being inequities.

Prevalence and correlates of common mental disorders among participants of the Uganda Genome Resource: Opportunities for psychiatric genetics research.

Genetics research has potential to alleviate the burden of mental disorders in low- and middle-income-countries through identification of new mechanistic pathways which can lead to efficacious drugs or new drug targets. However, there is currently limited genetics data from Africa. The Uganda Genome Resource provides opportunity for psychiatric genetics research among underrepresented people from Africa. We aimed at determining the prevalence and correlates of major depressive disorder (MDD), suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol abuse, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and probable attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among participants of the Uganda Genome Resource. Standardised tools assessed for each mental disorder. Prevalence of each disorder was calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Multivariate logistic regression models evaluated the association between each mental disorder and associated demographic and clinical factors. Among 985 participants, prevalence of the disorders were: current MDD 19.3%, life-time MDD 23.3%, suicidality 10.6%, PTSD 3.1%, alcohol abuse 5.7%, GAD 12.9% and probable ADHD 9.2%. This is the first study to determine the prevalence of probable ADHD among adult Ugandans from a general population. We found significant association between sex and alcohol abuse (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.26 [0.14,0.45], p < 0.001) and GAD (AOR = 1.78 [1.09,2.49], p = 0.019) respectively. We also found significant association between body mass index and suicidality (AOR = 0.85 [0.73,0.99], p = 0.041), alcohol abuse (AOR = 0.86 [0.78,0.94], p = 0.003) and GAD (AOR = 0.93 [0.87,0.98], p = 0.008) respectively. We also found a significant association between high blood pressure and life-time MDD (AOR = 2.87 [1.08,7.66], p = 0.035) and probable ADHD (AOR = 1.99 [1.00,3.97], p = 0.050) respectively. We also found a statistically significant association between tobacco smoking and alcohol abuse (AOR = 3.2 [1.56,6.67], p = 0.002). We also found ever been married to be a risk factor for probable ADHD (AOR = 2.12 [0.88,5.14], p = 0.049). The Uganda Genome Resource presents opportunity for psychiatric genetics research among underrepresented people from Africa.

Advancing Inclusive Research (AIR) Site Alliance: Facilitating the inclusion of historically underrepresented people in oncology and ophthalmology clinical research

BackgroundThe Advancing Inclusive Research (AIR) Site Alliance is composed of clinical research centers that partner with Genentech, a biotechnology company, to advance the representation of diverse patient populations in its oncology and ophthalmology clinical trials, test recruitment, and retention approaches and establish best practices to leverage across the industry to achieve health equity. MethodsThrough a data-driven selection process, Genentech identified 6 oncology and 3 ophthalmology partners that focus on reaching historically underrepresented patients in clinical trials and worked collaboratively to share knowledge and explore original ways of increasing clinical study access for every patient, including sites co-creation of a Protocol Entry Criteria Guideline with inclusion principles. ResultsFor patients, three publicly available educational videos about clinical trials were created in multiple languages. The AIR Site Alliance has also defined invoiceable services for sites to enhance patient support; this has been built into the new study budget templates for sustainability. For healthcare professionals (HCPs), the first-of-its-kind AIR Educational Program was developed to focus on identifying and addressing bias and engaging historically underrepresented patient populations in trials. The sites also co-created videos for HCPs and patients on why advancing inclusive research matters. Over 16 regional health equity symposia have been delivered for patients, HCPs, and community leaders. ConclusionsThis AIR Site Alliance is a model for other site alliances, including Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Such alliances will build a robust and sustainable research ecosystem that includes diverse patient groups and encourages change across the healthcare system.

The spectacle of demonstration: visual representation of political imagination during the coronavirus crisis

ABSTRACT The coronavirus crisis revealed the vulnerability of shared space especially as a space for civic actions. The media, during lockdown and social distancing, become the main channel for maintaining social connections. The present article deals with demonstrations in Israel during the spring and summer of 2020 which sought to overcome policies through visual mediation and the affordances of digital media. The first part focuses on Guy Debord theory as a means of understanding the alienation of people from their everyday life and meaningful political existence. While his forceful argument about the Spectacle was established on television, there are now evident changes as can be traced in the practices of social movements utilizing new media. Images, with enchanting power, were perceived as numbing distancing people from real life; now, they can also act as channels for the political imagination. In addition, the internet and digital culture in general may connect people to political action rather than dissociate them from it. The second part examines photographs from three different demonstrations and shows how political imagination was figured as spectacle and how visual rhetoric mediated the social movements' reasoning. The first is drawn from the Black Flags movement, established in the face of the chaotic conduct of Israel's former leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of corruption allegations. The demonstration's drone documentation, providing imagery taken from above, shows public gatherings grid as a representation of civil order. The second picture is from a Zoom-based demonstration in which a Zoom meeting, an event that enabled under-represented people to participate from their home. The third is from the Balfour demonstrations – a reenactment performance that was staged for the camera as an Instagram image, fashioning an ideal portrait of the protestors and of an idealistic vision of the state. The article uses these examples to demonstrate how the political agendas of the social movements are consolidated via visual technologies.

Female Academics in Higher Education: Conducting Qualitative Research against All Odds

This piece brings together the experiences of four Chilean researchers and one Spanish researcher with different professional backgrounds (psychology, sociology, nursing, and education), who conduct qualitative inquiry from other approaches, moments, and gender-sensitive topics of interest in the border regions of Arica and Parinacota, and Tarapacá, both in northern Chile; the capital Santiago; and in Andalucía, southern Spain. In this paper, the authors problematize their research experiences by focusing on their condition as academics conducting qualitative research in the context of neoliberal higher education and with a pandemic affecting all spheres of life. Finally, they explore what their experiences have been like in leading government-funded research projects and representing the voices of underrepresented people in different spheres of life in the field of education and health. Voices are shared to identify challenges and assess implications for qualitative research in these difficult times in the academy.

Computational phenotyping with the All of Us Research Program: identifying underrepresented people with HIV or at risk of HIV.

This study aims to identify the people living with HIV (PWH) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users in the All of Us (AoU) database by integrating information from both electronic health record (EHR)- and self-reported survey data. We identified PWH and PrEP users if they met the inclusion criterion by conditions, lab measurements, or medications related to HIV in EHR data or confirmed questions in the Survey data. We evaluated the latest data release through July 1, 2022 in AoU. Through computational phenotyping, we identified 4575 confirmed and 3092 probable adult PWH and 564 PrEP users. PWH was most identified by a combination of medications and conditions (3324, 43.4%) and drug exposure alone (2191, 28.6%), then less commonly by survey data alone (608, 7.9%) and lab alone (81, 1.1%). Our methods serve as an overall framework for other researchers using AoU data for conducting HIV-related research.

Widening the lens: towards a more inclusive suffrage story

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illuminate for teachers how the suffrage movement is centered in whiteness. The authors posit that this historical erasure is intentional, and teachers should actively find ways to counter that erasure. This paper positions teachers to ask critical questions of dominant narratives, and have students do the same.Design/methodology/approachGiven the existence of historical erasure and the absence of Black suffrage stories, the authors sought to build teachers' content base by conducting a historiography of the dominant narrative of the women's suffrage movement. They examined how state standards and popular online archival collections perpetuate the dominant narrative. They provide teachers with a rich content base and include primary sources they could use to teach this content to their students.FindingsUnsurprising, the Texas and Missouri state standards do little to advance the voices of underrepresented people, especially when it comes to the suffrage movement. Likewise, archival collections are limited by the choice of those who curated the collections. The article presents teachers with lesser known stories of the movement and accompanying primary sources.Practical implicationsTeachers cannot teach what they do not know. So the authors sought to build a teacher's content base so they could tell a more inclusive history. They want to help teachers identify dominant narratives and where historical erasure is happening, and commit to asking critical questions of those narratives and seek to diversity their histories.Originality/valueThis piece is original because much of this content is missing from current history classrooms. In addition, the primary sources and additional resources provided can strengthen a teacher's ability to teach about it.

Commentary on Kempe, the Next 50 Years

This paper provides a reflection on the evolution of child maltreatment systems and research across the globe during the time since the establishment of the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect (Kempe Center) over 50 years ago. While research has demonstrated that children who are victims of maltreatment have poorer outcomes than their peers, it is also clear that the child welfare workforce faces workforce challenges, and the system established 50 years ago is not the same as it is today. Efforts to move this field of study forward in a changing world rely upon the understanding of child abuse and neglect in the broader culture of our world, including disentangling poverty and social structures from neglect, supporting underrepresented people and communities, and identifying how best to balance the role of child welfare with community services. The Kempe Center’s continued commitment to a multidisciplinary approach to understanding, preventing, and treating child maltreatment, while challenging professional and social reticence to address complex contributing issues and the impact of historical actions, is at the core of its work looking forward to the next 50 years. The continued focus of centering research as a critical component in moving the field forward in just and equitable ways is demonstrated in this sampling of current efforts to support better outcomes for children and families.

Improving the Engagement of Underrepresented People in Health Research Through Equity-Centered Design Thinking: Qualitative Study and Process Evaluation for the Development of the Grounding Health Research in Design Toolkit.

Health inequalities are rooted in historically unjust differences in economic opportunities, environment, access to health care services, and other social determinants. Owing to these health inequalities, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected underserved populations, notably people of color, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, and those unable to physically distance themselves from others. However, people most strongly impacted by health disparities, and the pandemic, are not frequently engaged in research, either as researchers or as participants, resulting in slow progress toward improving health equity. Establishing ways to foster the engagement of historically excluded people is crucial to improving health equity through patient-centered health research. This study aimed to assess the use of equity-centered design thinking (EDT) for engaging community members in research prioritization related to COVID-19. The co-design methods and subsequent production of a toolkit that can be used for engagement were assessed through process evaluation and qualitative methods. Process evaluation and qualitative inquiry, using reflexive thematic analysis, were undertaken to examine the use of EDT. Patient community members and stakeholders remotely partnered with design and health researchers in a year-long digital process to cocreate capacity-building tools for setting agenda for research regarding the impact of COVID-19 on health outcomes. Through a series of 3 workshops, 5 community partners engaged in EDT activities to identify critical challenges for the health and well-being of their communities. The subsequent tools were tested with 10 health researchers who provided critical input over the course of 2 workshops. Interviews with co-designers, project materials, and feedback sessions were used in the process evaluation and finalization of an equity-centered toolkit for community engagement in research. Data from the co-design process, meetings, workshops, and interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify salient themes. Process evaluation illustrated how the EDT co-design process offered an approach to engage patient partners and community stakeholders in health-related research around COVID-19. The participants expressed satisfaction with design thinking approaches, including creative activities and iterative co-design, as a means of working together. Thematic analysis identified 3 key themes: the value of authentic partnerships, building trust and empathy through design, and fostering candid dialogue around health and social issues impacting historically underrepresented and underinvested communities. The project addressed the need to test EDT strategies for fostering inclusive community engagement in health research agenda setting and provided an alternative to traditional top-down models. Despite the increasing use of human-centered design in health, few projects explicitly include equity in design thinking approaches. The use of methods and tools to intentionally engage underrepresented stakeholders in the process of research agenda setting and equitably sharing power between researchers and community members may improve health research, ultimately improving health equity.

Underrepresented groups make small gains

From 2011 to 2021, women and Hispanic or Latino scientists achieved the largest increases in employment among underrepresented groups in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Still, their share of the workforce remains low compared with their proportion of the US population, the newest National Science Foundation report on diversity in STEM shows. “Today’s report serves as a critical benchmark for measuring and evaluating the nation’s progress in this area,” NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan said at a press conference. The fields of engineering and physical sciences, including chemistry, continue to have especially low percentages of women and underrepresented people of color (see pie chart) compared with social science fields. In 2021, the chemistry workforce, for example, included about 4.4% Black or African American people and 7.0% Hispanic or Latino people, data tables accompanying the report show. Women make up 35.1% of all chemists. Just 3% of people in

Women and underrepresented people of color make small gains in science employment, new diversity report shows

Women and underrepresented people of color make small gains in science employment, new diversity report shows

Ideas for improving diversity and inclusion in acoustics

Diversity within the acoustic profession in the UK is gradually widening in general, but there is still a significant need for improvement in terms of inclusion, diversity and equality. In order to address this need the UK Institute of Acoustics (IOA) has recently established a working group to examine the current situation within the Institute and within the wider profession in the UK. This paper will provide a summary of the current membership demographics of the IOA to provide a benchmark for improvement. Examples of successful initiatives from other national acoustical societies will be provided and ideas for improving the numbers and experience of underrepresented people in the IOA will be discussed.

"Freedom is Not Enough...": Affirmative Action and J.D. Completion Among Underrepresented People of Color

"Freedom is Not Enough...": Affirmative Action and J.D. Completion Among Underrepresented People of Color

Use of population health data to promote equitable recruitment for a primary care practice implementation trial addressing unhealthy alcohol use.

Recruiting underrepresented people and communities in research is essential for generalizable findings. Ensuring representative participants can be particularly challenging for practice-level dissemination and implementation trials. Novel use of real-world data about practices and the communities they serve could promote more equitable and inclusive recruitment. We used a comprehensive primary care clinician and practice database, the Virginia All-Payers Claims Database, and the HealthLandscape Virginia mapping tool with community-level socio-ecological information to prospectively inform practice recruitment for a study to help primary care better screen and counsel for unhealthy alcohol use. Throughout recruitment, we measured how similar study practices were to primary care on average, mapped where practices' patients lived, and iteratively adapted our recruitment strategies. In response to practice and community data, we adapted our recruitment strategy three times; first leveraging relationships with residency graduates, then a health system and professional organization approach, followed by a community-targeted approach, and a concluding approach using all three approaches. We enrolled 76 practices whose patients live in 97.3% (1844 of 1907) of Virginia's census tracts. Our overall patient sample had similar demographics to the state for race (21.7% vs 20.0% Black), ethnicity (9.5% vs 10.2% Hispanic), insurance status (6.4% vs 8.0% uninsured), and education (26.0% vs 32.5% high school graduate or less). Each practice recruitment approach uniquely included different communities and patients. Data about primary care practices and the communities they serve can prospectively inform research recruitment of practices to yield more representative and inclusive patient cohorts for participation.

Towards a common lexicon for equity, diversity, and inclusion work in academic medicine

Differential rewarding of work and experience has been a longtime feature of academic medicine, resulting in a series of academic disparities. These disparities have been collectively called a cultural or minority “tax,” and, when considered beyond academic medicine, exist across all departments, colleges, and schools of institutions of higher learning–from health sciences to disciplines located on university campuses outside of medicine and health. A shared language can provide opportunities for those who champion this work to pool resources for larger impacts across the institution. This article aims to catalog the terms used across academic medicine disciplines to establish a common language describing the inequities experienced by Black, Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Women, and other underrepresented people as well as queer, disabled, and other historically marginalized or excluded groups. These ideas are specific to academic medicine in the United States, although many can be used in academic medicine in other countries. The terms were selected by a team of experts in equity, diversity, and inclusion, (EDI) who are considered national thought leaders in EDI and collectively have over 100 years of scholarship and experience in this area.

An Exploratory Study of Digital Inequities and Work in the Redevelopment of a Southeastern American City

Nearly 6 million workers support the multi-billion-dollar digital economy as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. labor market. Middle-skill jobs in the digital economy sector that pay higher wages and do not require a bachelor’s degree are underrepresented people of intersectional marginalized identities. This exploratory study builds upon previous research on digital inequities by examining the digital economy values, behavior, and interests of a small sample of residents in an area of Charlotte, North Carolina with known digital, social, and economic inequities. Analyses included descriptive and bivariate statistics. Given the exploratory nature of the study, no causal inferences are made, however, preliminary findings suggest a need for further research on digital skills training that addresses the intersectional barriers experienced in marginalized communities, and the need for place-based interventions that leverage localized policies in the areas of affordable housing, workforce development, and economic development. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Mentoring in neuropsychology: Sage advice compilation from our field

ABSTRACT As part of the special issue on mentoring in neuropsychology in collaboration between the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology (JCEN) and American Psychological Association (APA) Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN; Division 40)’s Women in Neuropsychology Committee (WIN), we are excited to present a compilation of sage advice in regards to best practices in mentoring from a diverse range of well-respected clinical neuropsychologists in field. This amazing group of neuropsychologists, including: Drs. Heather G. Belanger, Erin D. Bigler, Cady Block, Mark Bondi, Greg Brown, Sandra Brown, Daryl Fujii, Robert Heilbronner, Robin C. Hilsabeck, Amy Jak, Michelle R. Madore, Luis D. Medina, Neil H. Pliskin, George Prigatano, Yakeel T. Quiroz, Lisa Jane Rapport, Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe, Anthony Y. Stringer, Julie Suhr, Daniel Tranel, Elizabeth W. Twamley, Steven Paul Woods, and Keith Owen Yeates discuss their first-hand experiences and practical advice related to formal/informal mentoring and supervising, with a particular focus on women and underrepresented peoples.

‘If I wasn’t a project manager, I’d look at it differently’: the impact of formality and accountability on entrepreneurial action within educational outreach programmes

ABSTRACT This presented study explores the ongoing Uni Connect Programme run by the UK government to widen participation among underrepresented young people. The research focused on one specific local authority that delivers Uni Connect activities, gathering data from eight in-depth interviews (project manager N = 2, activity coordinators N = 6) and the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT). Analysis of the data was used to critically examine the practices of activity providers and activity coordinators involved in the local authorities Uni Connect initiative. The data was analysed using thematic analysis drawing from concepts of organisational flattening and the delegation of authority. The paper makes an original contribution by presenting a theoretical model that highlights organisational asymmetry in delivering educational outreach programmes when entrepreneurial activity designers are forced to operate within hierarchical systems. This is important to understand as systematic and impersonal issues within the organisation lead to poorer outcomes for students who require specific outreach, even when stakeholders recognise the needs.

Formative Interests and Pathways to Natural Resources Careers among Historically Underrepresented People

The field of natural resources struggles to attract diverse talent despite efforts to increase racial/ethnic diversity. We explored factors influencing career choices among racially/ethnically underrepresented students and professionals in natural resources fields. The Social Cognitive Career Choice theory was used as a framework for analyzing data collected during semi-structured interviews of 15 students and career professionals. Results indicate that natural resource career interest generally stemmed from positive affections with nature, while career goals were strongly influenced by desires to positively impact individuals and communities. A number of barriers and supports were identified, including various social, experiential, familial, and systemic factors. The influence of these factors on career choice depended oncareer stage. Overall, participants expressed having little to no awareness or exposure to natural resources careers until later life stages, generally after matriculation in college. A number of suggestions were offered by participants to improve recruitment efforts of minoritized people.

Film as a Powerful Tool for Increasing Awareness of the Importance of Belonging in STEM

People of color in STEM fields can face a variety of challenges with belonging due to structural, cultural, psychological, and institutional barriers. The professional development sessions described in this lesson involved using film as well as institutional data and case studies as tools to increase awareness of such issues and identify actionable changes that can promote belongingness. Two different models are described based on the sessions conducted at two different institutions, one at a private liberal arts college with growing energy around inclusive STEM initiatives, and the other at an urban Tier 1 National Research University with a stated commitment to inclusion. Both involved the screening of the film <em>Can We Talk? Difficult Conversations with Underrepresented People of Color: Sense of Belonging and Obstacles to STEM Fields</em>, but differed in implementation based on institutional context. Institutions can use these models to facilitate experiences that can transform the culture of STEM for people of color in their respective academic spaces. This article will also detail challenges and lessons learned in successfully carrying out these events. <em>Primary Image:</em>&nbsp;Image from the film, <em>Can We Talk? Difficult Conversations with Underrepresented People of Color: Sense of Belonging and Obstacles to STEM Fields</em>.