Methods for Teaching Health Equity and Diversity, Equity Inclusion, and Accessibility to Public Health Practitioners: A Semisystematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Context: Training developers and educators play a crucial role in building strategic skills among the public health workforce. They prepare the workforce to respond to and address emerging concerns and priorities, including on the topics of health equity and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). Objective: The purpose of this semisystematic literature review was to identify current evidence-based methods that training developers and educators can apply when teaching DEIA and health equity principles to public health practitioners from various disciplines in the workforce. Design: We conducted a semisystematic literature review because this methodology’s purpose is to extract rich, in-depth descriptions that matched the aim to find evidence-based teaching methods to apply. Results: Six methods that hold promise for effective teaching health equity and DEIA principles emerged as themes: Critical Reflection, Service Learning, Case Studies, Peer-Learning/Dialogue, Workshops, and Simulation Learning. Conclusions: Considerations for best practice identified in this literature review include using multimodal approach to support different learning styles among diverse audiences, tailoring content based on training needs analysis recommendations, and considering onus placed on instructors and learners depending on the content and setting.