In 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an expert committee to assess the current use of racial and ethnic categories in biomedical research, review existing guidance for researchers, and provide new guidance for future use. The resulting 2024 report, Rethinking Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Research, outlines nine actionable recommendations and associated resources for advancing the responsible use of race and ethnicity.
The recommendations address how to:
- Decide whether to use race and ethnicity in different research contexts
- Characterize and disclose limitations of datasets that include racial and ethnic information
- Identify factors to investigate instead of or alongside race and ethnicity
- Include overlooked populations in analysis
- Support sustained community engagement
Access the report and supporting materials, including an interactive resource, action guides for research funders and journals, educational one pagers, and FAQs on the project webpage.