Shared Goals, Different Approaches: Lessons Learned from Collaboration between an Ethics Consultation Service and a Novel Healthcare Equity Consultation Service

Abstract: The challenges faced by members of minoritized communities in healthcare systems are extensive and well documented. Experiences of inequity related to race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, class, weight, and other traits are unfortunately frequent among patients and families for whom Ethics is consulted; and the principle of justice calls ethics consultants to develop their skills in understanding and addressing inequities on both an individual and systems level.

To facilitate advocacy for equity and inclusion in the care we provide, our academic medical center has developed a novel Healthcare Equity Consultation Service that is available to patients, families, and hospital staff to identify inequities that are potentially at play in a patient’s care, and to provide direct education and advocacy to promote more equitable care. The Ethics Consultation Service has collaborated closely with this service during its design, pilot, and permanent phases. Using examples from cases where both services were consulted, we will discuss areas of overlap and distinctions between the work of the Ethics and Equity consultation services, identify areas where ethics consultants can advocate for equity and justice in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team, and consider opportunities for collaborative advocacy to address systemic issues that perpetuate inequity.

Kamau Ayubbi – Program Manager, Healthcare Equity Consult Service, University of Michigan Health; Samantha Guyah, LMSW – Program Manager, Healthcare Equity Consult Service, University of Michigan Health; Prianka Shakil-Brown, LMSW – Program Manager, Healthcare Equity Consult Service, University of Michigan Health