The pursuit of equity

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In January of 2020, Phoenix Matthews, PhD—a clinical psychologist who has been on faculty since 2003—took the helm as the UIC College of Nursing’s rst associate dean for equity and inclusion. It was just as the college was confronted with the need to demonstrate a commitment to equity, justice and diversity.

By spring of 2020, communities across the U.S. exploded in reaction to video of a white police offi cer in Minneapolis pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd, an African American man who died following the incident.

As protests raged, professor Phoenix Matthews helped the UIC Nursing community grapple with complex feelings, thoughts and opinions about the role of race and police in America. Matthews embraced the opportunity, sharing resources and holding a series of open meetings for faculty, staff and students to learn and listen.

Calling the sessions, “A time to talk,” Matthews assured the college community that the conversations would be open and informal: “No authority; no right answer; no right approach.”

Matthews’ initiatives are part of the college’s overarching goals of creating a more equitable, inclusive and diverse environment. The spring of 2020 brought not just renewed attention to racism in policing, but also sharply exposed the way communities of color suffer from healthcare inequities. Black and African American people in the U.S. were hospitalized 4.7 times more often than white people due to COVID-19, and were dying twice as often, according to the CDC.

Growing ‘champions of change’

When the college began looking for an associate dean for equity and inclusion, Matthews , who uses a gender-neutral pronoun, was well-suited to the position because of their commitment to the college, their research expertise, and their deep-seated interest in improving access and inclusion.

Matthews, who is also the college’s Helen K. Grace Diversity Scholar, has focused their career on health disparities research, particularly as it relates to tobacco use. They helped pass Chicago’s fi rst restrictions on menthol-related tobacco sales, and last year, helped shepherd through legislation requiring every single-occupancy restroom in the state of Illinois to be labeled gender-neutral.

In addition to their own research on health equity, Matthews recognizes that UIC Nursing has an integral role to play in preparing future nurses and nurse leaders to level health outcomes globally.

“We’re in a moment in time in which a lot of polarization in our country related to equity and access has resurfaced,” Matthews says. “I think it is important to create a culture in the college in which we can have respectful dialogue and exchange of ideas about how to move forward toward our goals in our work as nurses, researchers and champions of change.”

UIC Nursing’s o cial statement on equity and inclusion

The UIC College of Nursing wants to make clear: There is no room for racism in our

institution; in our profession; in healthcare; in our country, our neighborhoods, schools or workplaces; nor in any dimension of

society. The College of Nursing is committed to condemning racism in all its forms and supporting education, policies and practices that advocate for equity and social justice for all.

Read the full statement online at nursing.uic. edu/about/diversity-inclusion

THE PURSUIT OF EQUITY

A college community that’s diverse, open to dialogue and active in pursuit of social justice sets the stage for healthcare team members who will do the same, Matthews says.

That includes having faculty and students who are representative of the overall population, making sure the curriculum includes case studies and examples that refl ect a diversity of patients, and inviting faculty and staff to explore their own cultural biases.

In a letter to the college community, Matthews and Dean Terri Weaver wrote about the college’s dedication to understanding and addressing the impact of social determinants of health—poverty, poor access to healthcare, social exclusion and segregation—on health outcomes. The college has a proud history of training nurses to work with disenfranchised and vulnerable patients.

“As current and future health professionals,” wrote Weaver and Matthews, “we have an opportunity and a duty to affect injustices in health and society by acknowledging its existence; providing care to the underserved; training the next generation of nurse-activists; and highlighting the needs and potential interventions through our research on food and pharmacy deserts, lack of access to healthcare, and other social injustices.”

Alysha Hart, PhD '20, RN, gives a TV interview during the Black Nurses Matter march.

Alumna, Matthews' mentee co-founds Black Nurses Matter

As Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, Alysha Hart, PhD ’20, RN, knew she wanted to join in the fi ght for justice and equality, and she saw an opportunity to bring a nurse’s perspective to the cause.

The UIC Nursing postdoctoral researcher and three other nurses decided to found the nonprofi t organization, Black Nurses Matter. The group’s mission is to eliminate systemic and structural racism across the healthcare spectrum using patient advocacy, active resistance efforts, and networking and mentorship.

Black Nurses Matter held a Nurses March in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 29. The group also marched alongside Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and families of police brutality victims at the National Action Network and NAACP’s Commitment March on Aug. 28.

Black Nurses Matter is tapping into the moment: The social and racial injustice that leads to police brutality is also the root cause behind health disparities for minority communities, Hart says.

Hart said as a nurse practicing in home-based palliative care, she saw “pervasive gaps” in care of underrepresented minorities. She and the group’s other founders believe one of the ways to address this is by broadening and improving the education of all nurses to care for diverse populations—to help them understand that their actions matter in equalizing the care provided to patients of all races.

While the Nurses March kickstarted the group’s activities, Hart says she wants Black Nurses Matter to be “sustainable and ongoing.” The group’s next step will be to offer an evidence-based mentorship program.