Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, & Accessibility (EDIA) Cross-Theme Supports for Team Primary Care
About the Digital Learning & Education Working Group
Since its inception in 2023, the DLE has identified three primary objectives for the current project phase: 1) the creation of Accessibility, Disability Justice, and Anti-Ableism (ADJA) Modules, 2) the development of an EqHS Learning Platform, and 3) the establishment of a Resource Repository for existing online EDIA resources. To accomplish these goals, the DLE has strategically assembled a working group consisting of experts with lived experience, an advisory group comprising professional and scholastic experts, and has partnered with the Office of Education Technology and E-Learning Collaboration for Health (Ed-TECH) from McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to develop the ADJA modules and EqHS learning platform. Through these collaborative efforts, the DLE is collaboratively advancing these objectives, in alignment with the targeted March 2024 deadline.
Accessibility, Disability Justice, Anti-Ableism (ADJA) Module Content Creation
The primary focus of the DLE has been to bridge the gap in accessibility education, training and resources. To achieve this, the group is developing three bilingual modules (in both English and French), addressing accessibility, disability justice, and anti-ableism within health systems. The ADJA working group, together with the Content Directors, have developed and storyboarded rich content based on evidence, and existing and curated resources. Combined with diverse personal lived experience and backgrounds in healthcare, this team is now translating this work into evidence based online learning, together with a team of instructional and multimedia designers. This will be a phased approach with iterative building of content and beta testing of media rich and interactive modules. This build will be unlike any other ADJA content developed to date, due to its focus on the healthcare context, lived experience throughout the entire process and attention to accessibility features for learners that go beyond "accessibility standards". Our goal is to create innovative and transformative learning experiences for diverse healthcare learners that will continue to inspire, grow and generate further conversations and collaborations around ADJA.
EqHS Platform Development
Simultaneously, the DLE is dedicated to crafting an intuitive platform to host the developed modules, curated resources and other essential elements of the project, such as the Readiness Assessment Tool (learner needs assessment), Adaptive Mentorship Network, and Evaluation components. The ultimate goal of this platform is to create a personalized and collaborative learning approach for diverse health professional learners, based on their perceived needs, required learning and mentorship needs.
Establishing the Lab's Resource Repository
The establishment of the lab's Resource Repository will support develop a comprehensive EDIA learning curriculum to further reinforce our commitment to developing EDIA resources and education. The aim in establishing this repository is to position EqHS lab as a dependable and credible source of equity, accessibility, and social justice resources based on the extensive expertise of the EqHS membership. The DLE has created a foundational blueprint for considerations in curating, rating, tagging and searching resources. This work will transition to, and continue, with the newly established curriculum committee in the EqHS lab. These curated and shared resources will further contribute to supporting the broader EqHS community and curriculum of the platform.
Through these initiatives, the DLE aims to not only address the immediate gaps in accessibility education but also establish a sustainable and impactful educational infrastructure for the advancement of equity, accessibility, and social justice within the digital learning landscape.
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