Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Pharmacoepidemiology – The Role of Caste in Drug Utilization, Safety, and Therapeutic Risk Management
PLEN-1 - Plenary Session: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Pharmacoepidemiology – the Role of Caste in Drug Utilization, Safety, and Therapeutic Risk Management
Problem being addressed: The field of pharmacoepidemiology has long recognized the limitations and challenges of using real-world data sources to address research questions pertaining to drug utilization and safety and the application of these findings for therapeutic risk management. Despite advances in methodologies, pharmacoepidemiologists often overlook how policies, social and political factors influence the populations that are (and are not) included in the data sources and the evidence generated. This plenary aims to integrate concepts of social epidemiology inquiry and theory into traditional pharmacoepidemiology. Approach: The plenary will be divided as follows: • The “Why” – why should pharmacoepidemiology should think about DEI (JHC) – 5min • ISPE commitment to DEI (ISPE President) – 5min • Introduction to social epidemiology and the ecosocial theory (NK) – 20min • Methodological issues with real-world data (WR) – 20min • Underrepresentation in clinical trials and impact on drug safety (FO) – 20min • Application of DEI in pharmacoepidemiology research (MD) – 20min • Q&A – Moving forward – 15min
Why is this a topic of interest? During 2020, ISPE issued a statement on diversity, inclusion, and equity, however as a society we often do not regularly consider these factors in research, even though they can impact health and health outcomes. It is important to take action on our statements, raise awareness, provide education, and support inclusion of all worldwide citizens in pharmacoepidemiological research. As an international organization, the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion should be discussed through a global lens in order to be relevant to the membership at large and not only to those in high-income countries. Therefore, the plenary will frame the topics of inequalities from the concept of caste. “A caste system is an artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry and often immutable traits, traits that would be neutral in the abstract but are ascribed life-and-death meaning in a hierarchy favoring the dominant case whose forebears designed it. A caste system uses rigid, often arbitrary boundaries to keep the ranked groupings apart, distinct from one another and in their assigned places” (Caste: the origins of our discontents / Isabel Wilkerson)
Learning Objectives:
Describe the role of the ecosocial theory in epidemiological research.
Discuss research methodology concerns with DEI in the conduct of the studies using RWD.
Understand the current landscape of drug safety assessment in unrepresented populations.
Discuss current applications of DEI in pharmacoepidemiology research.