Social Justice Through Scholarship: Integrating DEI and Research in C-L Psychiatry

In response to multiple calls for consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry to embrace social justice and equity principles (1-3), the Academy of C-L Psychiatry (ACLP) Board of Directors commissioned a Presidential Task Force to recommend action steps to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within our subspecialty organization (4), including the formation of a standing DEI Subcommittee. Recommendations included a focus on research- “growing a diverse group of researchers in C-L psychiatry and supporting research addressing health disparities”- highlighting the importance of developing the subspecialty’s scientific contributions to scholarship on systemic bias and healthcare while fostering an inclusive and equitable research culture. However, inequities persist both in research study design (5-6) for historically marginalized populations as well as research funding for minoritized investigators (7-8), contributing to a continued paucity of DEI-informed research within C-L psychiatry.

This session, co-sponsored by ACLP’s DEI Subcommittee, Research Subcommittee, and Research Special Interest Group (SIG), will focus a DEI lens on C-L psychiatry research. First, we will explore the audience’s impressions of DEI and research, and discuss the need for DEI work within the research field. Then, we will identify and analyze current gaps in DEI-informed research within C-L psychiatry, such as assessment and management of agitation, as well as common methodological obstacles in researchers attempting to do DEI-informed research. We will address how to enhance diversity and inclusion through expanding research in minoritized populations, using ongoing psychocardiology work in Latinx/Hispanic women as a case example; we will also discuss the need for increased diversity and inclusion within C-L psychiatry researchers themselves. We will also illustrate how to use coalition building to address intersectionality and advance equity within C-L psychiatry research, utilizing experience from community engaged research designed to improve cancer outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness. Finally, in small and large group discussion we will apply lessons learned from this workshop to discuss which research methodologies- case reports, retrospective chart reviews, randomized controlled trials- best address specific DEI questions in C-L psychiatry. Participants, from trainees and early career psychiatrists to seasoned full-time researchers, will learn how to apply a DEI lens to their current scholarship, identify new DEI-informed research questions, and develop diverse and inclusive research teams to better address the needs of our patient populations and our field.
References

1. Robinson DM et al. Psychosomatics. 2020 Sep 20;62(1):157–8.
2. Vaughn R and Amonoo HL. 2020 Sep-Oct;61(5):574-575.
3. Shapiro PA et al. J Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry 2021 Jul-Aug;62(4):377-386.
4. Lee K et al. Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP).https://www.clpsychiatry.org/news/academys-dei-task-force-report-published/
5. Rakshasa-Loots AM. Mol Psychiatry 2022 Dec;27(12):4824-4828.
6. Letzen JE et al. J Pain. 2022 Jun;23(6):893-912.
7. Taffe MA and Gilpin NW. Elife 2021 Jan 18;10:e65697.
8. Nguyen M et al. JAMA Netw Open 2023 Feb 1;6(2):e230855.