Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is a growing movement in education, public and private sectors. One way of thinking about the distinctions between diversity, inclusion, and equity is to consider a community like a hospital or a clinic. Health organizations are open-access, especially for emergencies. Everyone is welcome at the door (diversity), all who enter are attended to (inclusion), and each person should be treated fairly so they can heal (equity). However, we know this isn't always the case because there are barriers to access for many. Barriers have their roots in history: how a society is formed and functions. For a basic right like healthcare, there are still outstanding barriers based on income and employment that often dictate whether or not someone has health insurance. Opportunity to education and income also have historical roots that create inequality. Health personnel can knowingly or unknowingly create barriers to individual health.

This course is designed to facilitate healthcare workers' efforts to reduce and eliminate equity gaps between genders, races, ethnicities, classes, and differently-abled individuals and communities, and practice inclusivity by purposefully including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.