FEASIBILITY OF AN INTERACTIVE ZOOM-BASED ANTIRACISM COURSE FOR ACADEMIC NEUROLOGY FACULTY
Neishay Ayub1, Joshua Ray Tanzer2, Ryan Lantini2, Rochelle Rosen2, Debasree Banerjee2
1Brown Neurology, 2Brown University
Objective:
The aim was to implement an anti-racism curricula that fosters learning and discussion amongst neurology faculty.
Background:
While there has been an increase in educational series on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the medical school and residency levels, neurology faculty are also in need of accessible formal education and creation of safe spaces for discussion surrounding race and racism.
Design/Methods:
In 2021-2022, the JEDI Curricula (Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion) was delivered to Brown University Neurology faculty. The curricula consists of zoom-based didactics and group discussion, led by institutional experts in DEI, covering topics such as the myth of race as biology, race and research, as well as training and equity. A pre and post survey was sent to participants, related to attitudes, interest and knowledge about race and racism in medicine; confidence and comfort in addressing racism; curricular and departmental assessment and feedback.
Open-ended survey responses were entered into NVivo software for qualitative content analysis. Quantitatively, inference was based on the 95% CI for the difference between pre and post intervention averages, a range excluding zero indicating meaningful improvement.
Results:
36 (85%) of Brown Neurology faculty participated in at least one session. 40 pre and/or post survey responses were collected. Prior to curricula, 92% of survey participants wanted antiracism education. After the curricula, increases were identified in concern for use of race in medical algorithms (Hedge’s g = 0.75, 95% CI [0.18, 1.27]) as well as increase in confidence in race based discussions Hedge’s g = 0.99, 95% CI [0.41, 1.64]). In the qualitative analysis, passages will be presented to support the quantitative data as well as suggestions in improving the JEDI curriculum.
Conclusions:
Antiracism education delivered via interactive zoom-based sessions is an effective medium for education and discussion about race and racism amongst academic neurology faculty.