448 - Principles of Belonging in Pediatric Research: An Anti-Oppression and Health Equity Workshop

Publication Number: 448.6474

Vivian Qiang, McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Ji Yoon Kim, McGill University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Patricia Li, McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Ananya Banerjee, McGill University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Montreal, PQ, Canada; Joshua Swain, POPCORN, Toronto, ON, Canada

Background: Colonialism and other social structures continue to influence unequal global distribution of adverse health outcomes in pediatric populations. To understand and mitigate these legacies of injustice, training in anti-oppression is critical to produce equitable research and reduce health disparities. There are distinct gaps in the provision of applicable, action-oriented, and interactive anti-oppression training in pediatric research and care, and across health research more broadly.

Objective: The objective of this research was to develop and pilot a foundational anti-oppression and equity workshop within pediatric research and care. We also evaluated its effectiveness in equipping participants with the tools to apply anti-oppression in their research and practice.

Design/Methods: We introduced fundamental anti-oppression theories within pediatric research and care, including intersectionality, white saviorism, cultural safety, and critical allyship. Participants learned about the ongoing impacts of colonialism on the health of diverse populations and reflected on how we can collectively decolonize pediatric research.

The workshop promoted practice-based learning; two-thirds of the session was dedicated to interactive discussion and tailored exercises that allowed participants to directly apply concepts to their work. These included small-group case studies on real-world challenges in applying anti-oppression in pediatric research. This workshop’s strength lies in its consultative development approach with workshop attendees, where sessions were tailored to the needs of each audience. Post-workshop surveys were sent to all participants.

Results: The “Principles of Belonging in Pediatric Research” workshop was first piloted and evaluated in the Pediatric Outcome imProvement through COordination of Research Networks (POPCORN), a research platform to study COVID and other conditions in all children’s hospitals in Canada. Since then, the workshop has been delivered to over 600 students and 150 researchers in public health and medicine at various academic institutions and research networks between June 2023 and November 2024. Based on post-workshop surveys, participants reported having gained new knowledge on equity and anti-oppression (82-95%) and feeling prepared to apply these concepts to their studies or field of practice (88-89%).

Conclusion(s): Researchers hold a shared social and ethical responsibility to dismantle ongoing legacies of structural inequity in pediatrics. This workshop presents a starting point for improving the field of pediatrics through promoting research justice and health equity.