INCLUDE: Mapping Inclusion in Health Professions’ Education

About this initiative

Inclusion Health is a way of working where health professionals, researchers and those with lived experience of social exclusion, such as people living in poverty, people who are homeless, people with a mental illness or a substance abuse problem, members of minority ethnic groups, collaborate to develop impactful initiatives to reduce marginalisation and promote social inclusion within health service provision, and thus reduce health inequities which are a major societal challenge in Ireland and globally. The HSE National Social Inclusion Office states that healthcare staff should be trained to “respond sensitively and effectively to people who experience social exclusion”. Therefore, the enhancement of healthcare curricula with Inclusion Health approach is essential to ensuring that future healthcare staff are prepared for working with people who experience health inequalities. This project aims to identify where, in the curricula of College of Medicine & Health taught healthcare programmes, Inclusion Health is taught and assessed and where gaps exist in the teaching and assessment of Inclusion Health.