Professional Development in Health Sciences: Scoping Review on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity, and Accessibility Interventions

Abstract

Introduction: Equity, diversity, inclusion, indigeneity, and accessibility (EDIIA) are critical considerations in the formation of professional development (PD) programs for health care workers. Improving EDIIA competency in health care serves to enhance patient health, staff confidence and well-being, delivery of care, and the broader health care system. There is a gap in the literature as to the efficacy of EDIIA-based PD programs and their individual components. The present article will review available quantitative data pertaining to EDIIA-based PD programs for health care workers as well as their effectiveness. Method: A scoping review of articles published in the EBSCOhost, MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases was performed. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Results: A total of 14,316 references were identified with 361 reaching full-text review. A final 36 articles were included in the scoping review with 6552 total participants (72.9% women; 26.9% men; 0.2% nonbinary). EDIIA-based PD interventions were developed around the topics of culture (n = 22), gender (n = 11), sexual orientation (n = 9), indigeneity (n = 6), race (n = 6), ableism (n = 1), and ageism (n = 1). Discussion: Despite an increased interest in developing EDIIA-based PD curricula for health care workers, there are glaring disparities in the quality of care received by marginalized and equity-seeking populations. The present scoping review delineated key features which were associated with increased quantitative efficacy of EDIIA-based PD training programs. Future work should focus on large-scale implementation and evaluation of these interventions across health care sectors and levels of training.