The AAMC Center for Health Justice submitted a letter on April 17 to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to the request for comment on the Initial Proposals for Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards (also known as SPD 15). In its letter, deeply informed by input from the AAMC Collaborative for Health Equity: Act, Research, Generate Evidence (CHARGE), the Center recommended:
- Using a single question about how respondents identify, rather than asking separate questions about race and ethnicity.
- Adding “Middle Eastern or North African” as a new minimum reporting category.
- Removing terms that reinforce racial and ethnic hierarchy.
- Including other demographic data not currently in SPD15 t gather information on many other intersecting identities (disability, religion, primary language, etc.).
- A multisector group to evaluate changes and opportunities for potential research.