It is well evidenced that racism has a detrimental effect on individuals physical and mental health. This experience is further compounded where systemic or institutional racism occurs resulting in discrimination through societal systems, practices, and policies which produce and perpetuate inequities for racial minorities. How can we mobilise anti-racist practice to reduce racial health inequalities in the health and care sector?
Race Equity Maturity Index
The Race Equity Maturity Index is a tool developed by London Anti-Racism Collaboration for Health (LARCH) to support organisations in progressing race equity by enabling the tracking and improvement of race maturity levels. The index supports organisations in the actions they take to embed anti-racist practice. The REMI therefore complements the current equality, diversity and inclusion assessments and initiatives that health and care organisations are committed to.
Session details
In November 2024, representatives from across the health and care sector joined us for a two-hour learning and engagement event to learn how to assess and manage change to address racial inequities within and beyond your organisation.
This interactive event included:
● A discussion of the organisational benefits of race equity practice
● An outline of how the co-produced index was developed
● An overview of the Race Equity Maturity Index (REMI) stages of implementation
● An outline of the support available to organisations whilst implementing the REMI
● A Q&A panel with cross sector representation
View the session recording:
Audience Questions and Answers:
What type of studies were included in the scoping review? Is the review available in the public domain?
The literature review covers a selection of papers and online articles that discuss the structure, uses and features of maturity indexes.
We intend to publish the review in due course.
What would you advise is the smallest size organisations the REMI should apply to?
The REMI can apply to any size organisation, however if the organisation is very small it may be easier to team up with one or more other organisations to form some sort of support hub. This can also encourage peer accountability and quality checking throughout the process.
For instance, two small organisations within the same sector may wish to partner to formulate a race equity strategy that is usable for both, or to form a race equity working group (stage 2) or they may wish to pool resources for training etc. Having said this, each organisation must complete their own progress sheet and formulate individual and specific action points at the end of each assessment.
Could the REMI be used by a department at the department level verses the organisational in the hope that it might subsequently be embraced by the organisation as a whole? Or would you advise against this approach?
The REMI can be used by a single department. As long as there is someone within the department who can oversee the implementation of the REMI. There are some documents required by the REMI, such as the race equality strategy, which are usually formulated at leadership level, so the department may have to request these documents. If they are not readily available the department can adopt or formulate them in collaboration with external stakeholders, as required by the REMI.
In the BEING AWARE stage, could tangible indicators include: internal communications to staff; events and meetings that focus on racism; data/feedback from internal surveys and external industry reports so that the macro and institutional contexts are identified/evaluated and disseminated; allocation of specific staff to the REMI project and related tasks?
The ‘being aware’ stage of the REMI does include most of what is mentioned here. The external industry reports is the only aspect that is not required by REMI but this can be done on then organisations own initiative as an additional activity.
Do you have any standard presentations or slide decks available that we could use to help raise awareness of racial health inequalities in London?
The REMI toolkit currently does not include a presentation resource. However, you can download the presentation from this session here. We’re also happy to support organisations in raising awareness more broadly within their teams.
Are there any plans to explore how REMI might align with Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter (REC) Mark? Or how medical schools might harness REMI as a strategic approach and method of evidence for REC status applications?
This area has not yet been explored, but we are actively looking to expand the reach of REMI into other sectors, including education. The pace and scope of this expansion will depend on future funding opportunities.
