Sumi Sexton, MD, editor in chief of American Family Physician (AFP), said in an interview she had been working on changes at her journal that would answer the need for action that was made clear by this summer’s Black Lives Matter protests and realized the issue was much bigger than one journal. She proposed the collaboration with the other editors.
The editors wrote a joint statement explaining what they plan to do collectively. It was published online Oct. 15 ahead of print and will be published in all 10 journals at the beginning of the year.
Following the action by family medicine editors, the American College of Physicians issued a statement expressing commitment to being an antiracist organization. It calls on all doctors to speak out against hate and discrimination and to act against institutional and systemic racism. The statement also apologizes for the organization’s own past actions: “ACP acknowledges and regrets its own historical organizational injustices and inequities, and past racism, discrimination and exclusionary practices throughout its history, whether intentional or unintentional, by act or omission.”
Family medicine journals plan changes
Changes will differ at each family medicine publication, according to Sexton and other interviewees. Some specific changes at AFP, for example, include creating a medical editor role dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure that content is not only accurate but also that more content addresses racism, Dr. Sexton said.
AFP is creating a Web page dedicated to diversity and will now capitalize the word “Black” in racial and cultural references. Recent calls for papers have included emphasis on finding authors from underrepresented groups and on mentoring new authors.
“We really need to enable our colleagues,” Dr. Sexton said.
The journals are also pooling their published research on topics of racism and inclusion and have established a joint bibliography.
The steps are important, Dr. Sexton said, because reform in research will start a “cascade of action” that will result in better patient care.
“Our mission is to care for the individual as a whole person,” Dr. Sexton said. “This is part of that mission.”
Increasing diversity on editorial boards
Family physician Kameron Leigh Matthews, MD, chief medical officer for the Veterans Health Administration, praised the journals’ plan.
She noted that the groups are addressing diversity on their editorial boards, as well as evaluating content. Effective change must also happen regarding the people reviewing the content, she said in an interview. “It has to be both.
“I’m very proud as a family physician that our editors came together and are giving the right response. It’s not enough to say we stand against racism. They’re actually offering concrete actions that they will take as editors, and that will influence health care,” she said.
Dr. Matthews pointed to an example of what can happen when the editorial process fails and racism is introduced in research.
She cited the retraction of an article in the Journal of the American Heart Association entitled, “Evolution of Race and Ethnicity Considerations for the Cardiology Workforce.” The article advocated for ending racial and ethnic preferences in undergraduate and medical school admissions.
The American Heart Association said the article concluded “incorrectly that Black and Hispanic trainees in medicine are less qualified than White and Asian trainees.” The article had “rightfully drawn criticism for its misrepresentations and conclusions,” the AHA said, adding that it would launch an investigation into how the article came to be published.
Dr. Matthews says that’s why it’s so important that, in their statement, the family medicine editors vow to address not only the content but also the editing process to avoid similar systemic lapses.
Dr. Matthews added that, because the proportion of physicians from underrepresented groups is small – only 5% of physicians are Black and 6% are Hispanic – it is vital, as recommended in the editors’ statement, to mentor researchers from underrepresented groups and to reach out to students and residents to be coauthors.
“To sit back and say there’s not enough to recruit from is not sufficient,” Dr. Matthews said. “You need to recognize that you need to assist with expanding the pool.”
She also said she would like to see the journals focus more heavily on solutions to racial disparities in health care rather than on pointing them out.
At the Journal of Family Practice (JFP), Editor in Chief John Hickner, MD, said adding diversity to the editorial board is a top priority. He also reiterated that diversity in top leadership is a concern across all the journals, inasmuch as only 1 of the 10 editors in chief is a person of color.
As an editor, he said, he will personally, as well as through family medicine department chairs, be seeking authors who are members of underrepresented groups and that he will be assisting those who need help.
“I’m committed to giving them special attention in the editorial process,” he said.
Dr. Hickner said the 10 journals have also committed to periodically evaluate whether their approaches are making substantial changes. He said the editors have vowed to meet at least once a year to review progress “and hold each other accountable.”
Statement authors, in addition to Dr. Sexton and Dr. Hickner, include these editors in chief: Caroline R. Richardson, MD, Annals of Family MedicineFPMThe Journal of the American Board of Family MedicinePRiMERCanadian Family PhysicianFamily MedicineFP Essentials.
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. The Journal of Family Practice is owned by the same news organization as this publication.
A version of this article originally appeared on Medscape.com.