Our impact: 2021

BMJ impact report 2021 | Better systems

Acting against racism for a healthier, more equal, world

In February 2020, The BMJ highlighted the racial discrimination and health inequalities experienced by both patients and doctors in a special campaigning issue. Its huge success contributed to the launch of the NHS Health and Race Observatory in May 2021. Guest-edited by Victor Adebowale, chair, NHS Confederation, and Mala Rao, professor, Imperial College London and Medical Adviser to NHS England on Workforce Race Equality, our award winning Racism in Medicine 36 issue was the first journal publication solely focused on calling for action against racism in medicine.

The impact of this issue was considerable:

Prompted the NHS to announce the creation of the Health and Race Observatory 37 Exposed the lack of data on ethnic health inequalities Won the PPA Diversity and Inclusion Award 2021

• Led the University of Nottingham’s Medical Society to reverse a policy not to allow a representative from an ethnic minority group to sit on its committee • Claimed that harassment of ethnic minority students was not being monitored. This led to the BMA launching a charter calling on medical schools to end this abuse 38

“Racism is suddenly and at last everyone’s business, and acting against it is everyone’s responsibility. More so at this time than ever, we now realise, since we cannot fight covid-19 unless we fight racism.” Dr Fiona Godlee , Editor in Chief, The BMJ

We want this to be the start of wider coverage of the problems faced by patients and doctors from ethnic minorities. Racism is a public health matter – a fact made even more apparent when covid-19 struck. We will continue to raise awareness of new developments, research, and reports aimed at ending racism in medicine. We will also provide regular updates on the topics explored in our special issue.

Guest editor Lord Victor Adebowale CBE

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