We, the UC San Diego academic Division and hospital Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI), embrace our opportunity and responsibility to be an anti-racist academic community whose culture values diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. 

Acknowledgement:

We recognize

• Race does not represent biologic variation among humans – rather race is a social construct
• Racism, not race, impacts discovery, education, health care, health, and health outcomes.
• Acts of racism are present, persistent, and pervasive in our country and in our world.
• Interpersonal, systemic, and institutional racism, through acts of omission or commission, exists in our health care, academic, and research institutions.
• Racism has a harmful effect on trainees, faculty, staff, patients, and communities.
• Biomedical informatics has the potential to create racism, a digital divide, health inequity, and structural barriers without pro-active intentional ethical anti-racism approaches that consider, design, implement, and evaluate impact.
• Biomedical informatics has the responsibility to preserve, protect, and honor the privacy and security of individuals and acknowledge the ethical responsibility to ensure that systems and people are not discriminated against (intentionally or unintentionally) as a result of their race, color, ethnicity, national origin, legal sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, primary language, income, culture, religion, geographic home, age, or disability.

Commitment:

We commit to our colleagues, our patients and their families and caregivers, our learners and trainees, and our stakeholders

• We will not tolerate racism, in our research spaces, in our learning spaces, in our clinical spaces, or in our administrative spaces.
• We commit to examining and correcting our own individual unconscious and conscious bias related to racism.
• We commit to creating and adopting policies and practices that improve outcomes and eliminate health and educational inequities.

Self-awareness:

We aim to advance our own self-awareness

• Elevating antiracist training, implicit bias training, and trainee and faculty curricula.
• We commit to reflecting on our growth and direction on this journey together.

Action:

Our responsibility must uphold action to address racism:

• Strongly endorse and make visible our anti-racism statement.
• We will participate in activities that address racism inclusive of active participation in committees and leadership roles that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at UC San Diego, in our San Diego Community, and globally
• Share voice:
  • We commit to speaking out when we recognize racist incidents.
  • We commit to having a safe environment where faculty, staff, and students can speak out when they recognize racist incidents.
  • We commit to challenging norms that marginalize or prevent our colleagues from advancing wholly in their training and careers.
  • We commit to encouraging research collaborations focused on addressing health inequities.
  • We commit to being an active ally for justice and healing for the communities and world that we serve.
  • We commit to study, research, and advance biomedical informatics methods that serve a strong anti-racism stance.
• Make visible through measurement:
  • Develop visible demonstration of diversity and equity gaps and strengths within DBMI membership and participation.
  • Review current DEI activities and demographics and define gap and future activities to address racism.

Outcomes:

We aim to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion through measurable outcomes:

• Establishing and evaluating a timeline for planned anti-racism activities.
• Ensuring our membership and advancement of faculty, staff, and trainees grow to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Conduct research and publications that address DEI in biomedical informatics.

• Publically showcase DEI efforts, science, and impact to education, research, care, and service.
• Develop roadmap for development and communication strategy to share via publications, collaborations, and webpage.
• Identify key partnerships, training opportunities, and programs for globally impactful projects.

  DBMI Health Sciences Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador