The impact of diverse and inclusive images in educational materials on health professions students

Abstract Background The malalignment of the race and ethnicity of healthcare practitioners with that of the population of the United States has the potential to perpetuate existing health disparities. Inclusive teaching practices such as ensuring representation in educational images are hypothesized to help encourage more diversity within healthcare practitioners and more understanding of diverse communities. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of using diverse and inclusive images in educational materials on health professions students. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 54 health professions students recruited from a convenience sample were shown two brief educational videos: one with traditional images and one with more inclusive images. The order in which participants were shown the videos was randomized. After each video, each participant completed a questionnaire about their perceptions of the images used in the video, including 19 closed-ended questions and three open-ended questions. Results This study found that images traditionally used in educational materials fail to reflect the diversity of the population with only 17% of the Non-Caucasian and/or Hispanic group reporting feeling represented. Additionally, participants found diverse images more suitable for learning than traditional images (83% vs. 68%) and more reflective of students and future patients (70% reporting representation). Conclusions This study highlights the need to intentionally include diverse and representative images in educational materials. Accurate representation within images in health professions education is important for empowering learners to embrace diversity and care for all individuals.