Academic Medicine Open Forum

The AAMC Center for Health Justice and the American Medical Association have released a guide to help increase your understanding of inclusive language, advance health equity, and build stronger relationships with patients and members of your community. Designed for physicians and other health care professionals, Advancing Health Equity: AMA-AAMC Guide on Language, Narrative, and Concepts provides guidance and promotes a deeper understanding of equity-focused, first-person language and why it matters.

We hope you'll find it useful (and we welcome your feedback).

Bottom line: words matter. Here are 4 easy ways to start using more equity-focused language:

1. Avoid describing patients by their diagnoses. Rather than calling someone a "diabetic," refer to them as a person with diabetes.
2. Avoid conflating a person's identity with their housing status. Rather than calling someone "homeless," refer to them as a person "experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity."
3. Avoid classifying entire populations by their underprivileged status (e.g., "vulnerable community").
4. Avoid using terms like "target," "tackle," "combat" or other terms with violent connotations when referring to people, groups, or communities.

The AAMC Center for Health Justice and the American Medical Association have released a guide to help increase your understanding of inclusive language, advance health equity, and build stronger relationships with patients and members of your community. Designed for physicians and other health care professionals, Advancing Health Equity: AMA-AAMC Guide on Language, Narrative, and Concepts provides guidance and promotes a deeper understanding of equity-focused, first-person language and why it matters.

We hope you'll find it useful (and we welcome your feedback).

Bottom line: words matter. Here are 4 easy ways to start using more equity-focused language:

1. Avoid describing patients by their diagnoses. Rather than calling someone a "diabetic," refer to them as a person with diabetes.
2. Avoid conflating a person's identity with their housing status. Rather than calling someone "homeless," refer to them as a person "experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity."
3. Avoid classifying entire populations by their underprivileged status (e.g., "vulnerable community").
4. Avoid using terms like "target," "tackle," "combat" or other terms with violent connotations when referring to people, groups, or communities.

The AAMC Center for Health Justice and the American Medical Association have released a guide to help increase your understanding of inclusive language, advance health equity, and build stronger relationships with patients and members of your community. Designed for physicians and other health care professionals, Advancing Health Equity: AMA-AAMC Guide on Language, Narrative, and Concepts provides guidance and promotes a deeper understanding of equity-focused, first-person language and why it matters.

We hope you'll find it useful (and we welcome your feedback).

Bottom line: words matter. Here are 4 easy ways to start using more equity-focused language:

1. Avoid describing patients by their diagnoses. Rather than calling someone a "diabetic," refer to them as a person with diabetes.
2. Avoid conflating a person's identity with their housing status. Rather than calling someone "homeless," refer to them as a person "experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity."
3. Avoid classifying entire populations by their underprivileged status (e.g., "vulnerable community").
4. Avoid using terms like "target," "tackle," "combat" or other terms with violent connotations when referring to people, groups, or communities.