Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The CCCTG aspires to be an equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization where all members, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feel valued and respected. Moreover, we are committed to modeling equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for the entire critical care community.
To provide informed, authentic leadership for equity, diversity, and inclusion, the CCCTG and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee will strive to:
- Bring a lens of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to all CCCTG activities
- See equity, diversity and inclusion as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well being of our members and the communities we serve
- Acknowledge and dismantle inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and update and report on our progress
- Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness
- Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions around equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Lead with respect and tolerance. We expect members to embrace this notion and to express it in interactions and everyday practices.
We seek to advance equity-focused health care through equity-focused research. Specifically, we are:
- Integrating EDI-related considerations in research design and practices
- Promoting equitable and inclusive participation in the research system, including on research teams
- Collecting data and conducting analyses needed to include EDI considerations in decision-making
- Engaging diverse communities of patients, citizens and /or advocates in the design and conduct of research, and dissemination of results
This work intersects with various partners and networks, such as the CCCTG Patient and Family Partnerships Committee, to promote EDI.
EDI Resources
A Pilot Tool for Standardized Data Collection
► Access the pilot tool: Standardized questions and response options (link)
This work was published in May 2023 on behalf of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia. The paper provides a rationale for collection of demographic data within clinical research, and provides the set of standardized questions and response options relating to demographic variables. See Addressing health care inequities in Canadian critical care through inclusive science: a pilot tool for standardized data collection, cited below.
The aim is to have researchers copy and paste these directly into their CRFs for questionnaire studies, observational studies and RCTs. The ideal is to ask research participants rather than assign the responses.
EDI Project Planning Checklist
► Download the EDI Project Planning Checklist (PDF)
This resource was developed to support implementation of EDI in CCCTG related projects. This checklist serves as a guide to remind investigators to consider these elements. We welcome feedback to improve the checklist. Should you or your team have any additional items you wish to see included in the checklist please email Geeta Mehta (geeta.mehta@sinaihealth.ca) and Kirsten Fiest (kmfiest@ucalgary.ca).
List of Other Recommended EDI Resources
► Recommended EDI Resources (link)
On the Recommended EDI Resources page you will find links to information on topics including EDI terminology; race and ethnicity; Indigenous health; sex and gender; intersectional considerations; health equity in critical care medicine; socioeconomic disadvantage; neighbourhood disadvantage; mental and physical disability; substance misuse; immigrant health equity; incarceration and health equity, climate change and patient care, and digital health equity.
Publications
Li Y, Fiest K, Burns KEA, O'Hearn K, Maratta C, Menon K, Rochwerg B, Murthy S, Fowler R, Mehta S; Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. Addressing health care inequities in Canadian critical care through inclusive science: a pilot tool for standardized data collection. Can J Anaesth. 2023 Jun;70(6):963-967. English. doi: 10.1007/s12630-023-02450-1. Epub 2023 May 10. PMID: 37165123.
► Infographic: CCCTG Member Demographics Pilot Survey Data
Mehta, Sangeeta; Ahluwalia, Nanki; Heybati, Kiyan; Burns, Karen E. A. ; Owais, Sawayra ; Cook, Deborah J. , for the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. Diversity of Authors of Publications From the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. Critical Care Medicine: August 13, 2021. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005284