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RESEARCH REPORT

Antiracist Institutional Change in Healthcare

March 2023

From Words to Action: Institutional Accountability and Transformation

COVID-19 and the 2020 wave of racial justice demonstrations in the United States moved many healthcare organizations to enact antiracist change goals. Yet, many of these commitments lacked effective strategies and accountability mechanisms.

IARA conducted a one-year study of existing antiracist interventions in healthcare organizations and a review of authoritative evidence for institutional accountability.

Key Findings:

IARA’s pioneering case studies indicate five key organizational levers necessary to close racial disparities in healthcare outcomes and produce long-term sustainable institutional transformation:

• Buy-in and continued engagement from leadership
• A shared understanding and use of explicit language to define structural racism
• Effective organizational infrastructure
• Clearly defined metrics
• Building internal capacity and professional development