AOTA DEI Committee Strategic Plan Update

In June 2021, the AOTA inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee took charge of executing the strategic plan developed by the AOTA DEI task force in 2020. The committee seeks to support the entire OT community in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that enhance accessibility and justice (DEI+). This article provides an update on the committee’s progress, lists some of the completed tasks, and describes facilitators for and barriers to progress.

Below are brief updates on the corresponding action items in the strategic plan.

• Action 1.1: Establish a DEI committee. The DEI committee has been meeting regularly since 2021. Members Vikram Pagpatan, EdD, OTR/L, assumed another leadership role at AOTA so Jacqueline Stevenson, OTD, OTR, filled his seat.
• Action 1.2: Modernize existing AOTA governance structures, policies, practices, procedures, programs, and services to incorporate DEI vision and values. The committee compiled a list of training and resources for AOTA governance volunteers to enhance their understanding of DEI+ topics and the relationship to their current position.
• Action 2.1: Curate accessible content and resources for academic preparation. The DEI committee recommended identifying member volunteers to assist in identifying and developing resources to increase accessibility (e.g., DEI Toolkit). The micro volunteer process started at the AOTA INSPIRE | 2023 Annual Conference & Expo. We are working on developing a checklist for DEI+ implementation for use by AOTA staff and members, specifically those in academic settings. We will develop training resources to support items on that checklist.
• Action 1.3: Identify and address barriers to participating in volunteer leadership roles. The committee worked on creating an exit process for volunteers which will inform the Voluntary Leadership Development Committee (VLDC).
• Action 2.2: Curate accessible content for continuing education and professional development. The committee reviewed the website to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.0 criteria, and also recommended:
• Developing continuing and professional development resources for AOTA staff and members (i.e., workshops with tracks and expert speakers, podcasts, social medial events).
  • Providing resources to academic programs to ensure coursework and resources are accessible to instructors and learners.
  • Reviewing and revising essential functions for program admission/retention of learners and faculty with diverse experiences.
• Action 2.3: Promote the adoption of DEI requirements as part of accreditation, licensure, and certification. The committee submitted a letter to the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE^®) highlighting the importance of DEI components in OT curriculum and education, and specific verbiage and items were recommended. The draft of the new ACOTE standards includes DEI language for some of the standards.
• Action 2.4: Infuse intersectional DEI+ content into AOTA materials. The committee is involved in several initiatives to infuse intersectional DEI content in AOTA materials and communications with members. Examples include the monthly Let's Talk DEI Column in OT Practice; Let's Talk DEI Live Panel Discussions, and Let's Talk DEI in Action at AOTA INSPIRE 2023.
• Action 2.5: Identify and disseminate relevant research studies that elevate awareness and advancement of DEI-related topics. The DEI committee sent a letter to the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) with recommendations to increase the visibility of research conducted around DEI+ issues. As a result, committee members were invited to work with AJOT's own DEI committee on actions toward enhancing the visibility of DEI content in AJOT publications and the website.
• Action 3.1: Enhance awareness of and opportunities for occupational therapy careers within historically excluded and underrepresented populations. The committee successfully proposed and organized an annual career fair for the DEI team, which involved promoting OT to underrepresented populations at AOTA INSPIRE 2023. The committee is exploring funding opportunities to sponsor a project on a traveling pathway promotion approach.
• Action 3.2: Identify and address barriers to admission to and successful completion of OT and OTA programs. The committee is working on identifying a list of communities of interest to gather information for common data on student admissions and barriers to recruiting students from diverse and marginalized communities.
• Action 3.3: Examine experiential differences and barriers in employment for occupational therapy professionals and students from diverse backgrounds and determine approaches to support our community. The committee reviewed the raw qualitative feedback data from the AOTA listening sessions and will schedule a follow up with the AOTA Multicultural, Diversity, and Inclusion (MDI) groups to discuss the data and create action steps. The committee also reviewed DEI language for the OT/OTA Workforce and Salary Survey.
• Action 4.1: Build, regularly update, and consistently communicate the lexicon of terms related to DEI+, relevant to our membership.

There has been continual feedback provided to AOTA regarding the use of appropriate lexicon, and there was a request submitted to solicit micro volunteers to review the word bank contained in the AOTA DEI toolkit to update the terms. The goal is to update/review the word bank at least quarterly.

• Action 4.2: Collect and transparently share information about our DEI+ efforts. The AOTA DEI page was updated with more resources and training. The committee members presented two short courses at AOTA INSPIRE 2023 on Inclusive Practices in Academia. The committee also hosted a hands-on event to highlight cultural humility and DEI+ in daily activities. Additionally, the committee provides content for the Let’s Talk DEI column in OT Practice each month. Finally, several committees and individuals have presented as guest speakers or keynote speakers at various universities and state associations. presented as guest speakers or keynote speakers at various universities and state associations.
• Action 4.3: Apply a DEI lens to all AOTA communications. The committee is currently reviewing documents for several AOTA committees.
• Action 4.4: Create collaborations with agencies and organizations to understand the shifting demographic composition of the profession. Current work is focused on establishing shared resources across organizations related to DEI+. For example, the committee met with the American Physical Therapy Association and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association DEI staff to learn about their DEI development efforts, and also attended MDI meetings to explore collaboration opportunities.

The committee continues to work on all strategic plan items and seeks collaboration, volunteers, and partners to implement DEI+ initiatives and acknowledges the invaluable resource of AOTA staff members, Varleisha Gibbs, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, Vice President, Practice Engagement and Capacity Building, and Alison Bondurant, CAPM, Executive Office Manager, for their continuous support of the committee’s efforts since inception. They provide input, organize meetings, facilitate events, and connect the committee with members, collaborators, and networks inside and outside of AOTA, and provide extended logistical and moral support. The strategic plan is broad and far-reaching, and time remains the scarcest resource available to the committee members. AOTA member support is paramount to the success of the committee’s efforts. Please share your concerns, ideas, and initiatives to move our vision of an inclusive profession forward by emailing dei@aota.org.

Razan Hamed, PhD, OTR/L; Shanese Higgins, DHSc, OTR/L, BCMH; Catherine Hoyt, OTD, PhD, OTR/L; Natalie Chang, OTA; Janet Jedlicka, PhD, FAOTA; Angel Bryant, OTD, OTR/L; Samy Hamdan, MSOT, OTR/L; Naomia Rivera, COTA/L; and Jacqueline Stevenson, OTR, are all members of the AOTA DEI committee.