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AWIR Pioneers Research Exploring EDI Elements In Rheumatology Practice And Patient Care
AWIR aims to promote the science and practice of rheumatology, in part through supporting rheumatology research. All of our research endeavors consider EDI and actively strive to include diverse populations, including those traditionally excluded in clinical research.
Improved care for all patients depends on data informed by diverse communities that reflect our patient populations.
We proactively emphasize EDI in research because
- Minorities have been underrepresented in rheumatology clinical research, including trials leading to the approval of key rheumatology drugs1—despite decades of awareness about the need for inclusive trials and NIH policy for NIH-funded research that requires inclusion of women and minorities2
- We believe women rheumatologists should increase their involvement in academic research and publications
- There are EDI-related topics in rheumatology we believe deserve attention that could contribute to the improvement of medical practice, physician wellbeing, and patient outcomes
1. Xie Y, Liu Y, Qin Y, Chen X, Xie Q. Characteristics of race/ethnicity in trials leading to anti-rheumatic drug approval for inflammatory arthritis by the US Food and Drug Administration. Int J Rheum Dis. 2023 Dec;26(12):2489-2497.
2. NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health. “NIH Guidelines: Inclusion of Women and Minorities.” In: NIH Inclusion Outreach Toolkit: How to Engage, Recruit, and Retain Women in Clinical Research. National Institutes of Health. Available online at https://orwh.od.nih.gov/toolkit/nih-policies-inclusion/guidelines. Accessed May 2024.