Enhancing Health Laboratory Research Through DEIA
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman
In this program:
How can diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) help enhance health laboratory research? Expert Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman from Virginia Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS) defines DEIA and explains actions various groups are taking to bring positive changes to health laboratory research.
Transcript
Deandre White:
We know there have been concerted efforts by a number of entities to enhance research and investment in communities through diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA for short, how do you define the DEIA?
Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman:
So, for DEIA, obviously then just being an acronym for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. It's the recognition, support and intentional understanding that we all benefit from our differences. And all identities should not only be shared, but celebrated within the workplace and externally to those that we are providing services to. So I serve as the chair of a DEIA committee with the Association of Public Health Laboratories. And in this role, the committee works to understand the needs of our member laboratories worldwide we research what may be needed, and then we intentionally provide those resources and trainings that will foster DEIA.
We don't want people to have to re-create the wheel. And a lot of times when you can hand something to someone with a nice bow on top, it's easier for them to say, “Yes, I'm going to take this on,” versus them having to come up with the ideas and the task and the information and education themselves. We have moderated virtual communities where all members, well over a thousand I believe, can create a post about topics related to DEIA and seek responses. We discuss current events, health-related opportunities, health-related outcomes, challenges with DEIA and how it impacts the community.
We read a lot of books. We do a lot of trainings and offer a lot of trainings, just kind of a little bit of everything. But the main thing being that it is based on the needs of the APHL community. And so we do perform surveys to help inform us on some of the things that people may need. That DEIA space with APHL is interactive and it is extremely courageous people like to say safe space. And a partner of mine once told me, safe space implies everybody's comfortable.
But change really only happens when people are uncomfortable, and you have to be courageous enough to do that.
Deandre White:
Right. Exactly.
Dr. Marilyn Bibbs Freeman:
And so we're creating that courageous space. We make best practices in the community outreach more tangible to our members, and we also look at policies and provide feedback to make them more inclusive. So my first recommendation to raise awareness is to start with making a statement that demonstrates your commitment to DEIA, not only for your company or your health practice, but also for the people that you serve. Next, you really want to always move forward. I always tell our team always forward, always forward. We can get so wrapped up in wanting things to be perfect and we don't get any forward movement. It doesn't have to be perfect or magnanimous and big and showy. It just needs to be progressive and powerful.
And I think really the final thing I would probably recommend is to recognize it isn't a checkbox. It isn't something you do and then stick on the shelf. It's evergreen. It requires work every single day. And the reason it requires work every single day is because we are different tomorrow than we were today. And that is going to happen throughout the course of time. And as we learn different things and different needs, we have to change. We have to be flexible and pliable. We have to do better so that our patients get the best outcome. We have to learn, we have to grow, we have to adjust.
Deandre White:
And I think as long as you're seeing change, you're probably doing it right.
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