New grant funding is available for internal medicine physicians to promote equity

Several leading health care organizations and foundations are co-sponsoring new grant funding aimed to help promote equity and diversity in health care, according to a press release from ABIM.

The $500,000 grant program, “Building Trust Through Diversity, Health Care Equity, Inclusion and Diagnostic Excellence in Internal Medicine Training,” will look to support projects by internal medicine residents, staff and faculty that address diversity, equity and inclusion through education and training.

Some of the funding — $100,000 — is devoted to addressing diagnostic obstacles that impede equity.

Among the grant’s sponsors include the ACP, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, ABIM and its foundation, the Josiah J. Macy Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The sponsors are encouraging internal medicine residents and faculty to apply for the grant funding. They are seeking two kinds of projects: educational proposals focused on training, skill and competency acquisition, and proposals focused on engineering care processes, with the goal of promoting trustworthiness and equitable outcomes present in both.

The release presented several examples of such projects, which include:

• training programs that utilize diversity, equity and inclusive values;
• improvement and evaluation programs that progress trustworthiness through health equity; and
• ideas for promoting trustworthiness and psychological safety amongst teams with a specific focus on recognizing bias, advancing diversity and breaking down hierarchal structure barriers.

Letters of intent will be accepted through Jan. 9, and selected applicants will be invited to submit proposals. Grants up to amounts of $10,000, $20,000 and $40,000 will be awarded in the summer of 2023.