Cooking up Change: DEIB Principles as Key Ingredients in Nutrition and Culinary Medicine Education

Nutrients. 2023 Oct 5;15(19):4257. doi: 10.3390/nu15194257.

Abstract

The integration of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) principles into healthcare education is essential to ensure culturally sensitive and equitable healthcare delivery. In the domain of nutrition, food, and health, these principles are particularly vital, as diet and food choices are strongly linked to cultural identities and socioeconomic conditions. Despite a growth of DEIB initiatives in undergraduate and graduate medical education, there is a significant gap regarding guidelines for implementing DEIB principles in education around nutrition and food, including that for dietitians, allied health and medical professionals. A literature review was conducted, analyzing peer-reviewed articles and current practices in academic medical education to understand DEIB in nutrition, food, and health. The outcome was the creation of a three-tiered checklist titled "Checklist for Culturally Competent Education in Nutrition". It serves as a roadmap to cultivate culturally competent, equitable, and inclusive healthcare professionals that emphasizes avoiding bias, enhancing awareness, and building practical skills for DEIB implementation around nutrition.

Keywords: belonging; culinary medicine; cultural competence; culturally sensitive care; diversity; equity; inclusion; medical education; nutrition education.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Cooking
  • Diet
  • Education, Medical*
  • Health Personnel / education
  • Humans

Substances

  • N-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl)-4-iodobenzamide

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.