Pathways to Health for All: Health Disparities & Health Equity Research Recommendations & Opportunities

Pathways to Health for All, a new report from the Health Disparities and Health Equity Research Working Group of the NIDDK Advisory Council makes innovative recommendations to advance our health equity and health disparities research programs. It also includes guiding principles for embedding equity into research and tips for researchers, at NIDDK and externally, who plan to engage in robust health equity research.

Presented in the report are five overarching research recommendations, each with corresponding opportunities, for high-impact research and actionable strategies:

1. Strengthen community engagement through partnership, power sharing, and capacity building to improve research
2. Advance research on the mechanisms by which biological, behavioral, environmental, and structural factors interact to affect health, disease, and resilience
3. Advance research on interventions and studies to address racism, health-related social needs, and social determinants of health
4. Promote new methods, measures, tools, and technologies to accelerate achievement of health equity research goals
5. Enhance NIDDK collaboration, structures, and programs to support robust research in health equity

Background

In 2021, the NIDDK Advisory Council established a Health Disparities and Health Equity Research Working Group to advance the NIDDK health disparities and health equity research portfolio. The Working Group was charged with identifying a range of research needs and opportunities that represent the full spectrum of NIDDK science (basic, clinical, and translational). It included community members, patients, and caregivers, NIDDK staff and external researchers from across the country with multidisciplinary research expertise related to health disparities and health equity. The Working Group’s Report was accepted by the NIDDK Advisory Council on January 25, 2023, and NIDDK sought further input from the community.

NIDDK invited comments on the Working Group’s Report from: the scientific research community; patients and caregivers; health care providers and health advocacy organizations; scientific and professional organizations; federal agencies; and other stakeholders, including interested members of the public. Feedback received through the RFI will inform NIDDK as it considers how to implement the recommendations and opportunities presented in the report.