The field of informatics plays a vital role in shaping health care systems and improving patient outcomes. However, without a conscious effort to address and dismantle racism, there is a risk of perpetuating inequalities with information systems. In an article published in JAMIA, “Applying anti-racist approaches to informatics: a new lens on traditional frames” AcademyHealth Senior Scholar Jodyn Platt, AcademyHealth Vice President Elizabeth Cope and colleagues highlight the need for anti-racist expertise in informatics and proposes the use of the Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP) as a powerful framework to tackle racism in digital forms.
The authors note that applying the PHCRP-Informatics framework requires a collective effort from informatics professionals, researchers, and policymakers and urge individuals and organizations to engage in critical self-reflection and recognize their own biases. They conclude that the use of the PHCRP-Informatics framework has the potential to transform the field of informatics by applying a broader set of principles to the work. The authors note that by integrating equity and justice into informatics, we can build data-driven healthcare systems that truly serve all individuals and communities.
Read the full article here.