The 5Ws of Racial Equity in Research: A Framework for Applying a Racial Equity Lens Throughout the Research Process

Keisha L Bentley-Edwards; Patrice Jordan Fleming; Irene A Doherty; Dane R Whicker; Sabrena Mervin-Blake; Nadine J Barrett

doi:10.1089/heq.2022.0042

The 5Ws of Racial Equity in Research: A Framework for Applying a Racial Equity Lens Throughout the Research Process

Health Equity. 2022 Dec 16;6(1):917-921. doi: 10.1089/heq.2022.0042. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Keisha L Bentley-Edwards^{1

2

3}, Patrice Jordan Fleming^{3

4}, Irene A Doherty^{5

6}, Dane R Whicker^{3

7}, Sabrena Mervin-Blake^{3

4}, Nadine J Barrett^{3

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
² Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
³ Center for Equity in Research, Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁴ Community Engaged Research Initiative, Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁵ Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁶ RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁸ Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
⁹ Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Abstract

Ensuring equity in research is a critical step in advancing health equity. In this perspective, the authors introduce a guiding framework for advancing racial equity in research processes, environments, and among the research workforce, the 5Ws of Racial Equity in Research. Centering their discussion on the 5Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why, they use historical and contemporary examples of research inequities to demonstrate how these five simple questions can encourage open discussion and proactive planning for equity in research. They close with an acknowledgment of the framework's broad utility and a researcher-directed call to action.

Keywords: equity in research; health equity; racial inequities; research methods.