Many of the algorithms shaping clinical care today were built with race as an input variable. ENGAGE is a national initiative to change that — through evidence, education, and a call to the research community.
About ENGAGE
The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) has received a $2.6 million grant from the Doris Duke Foundation to lead ENGAGE: Eliminating Bias in Next-Generation Algorithms: Guidance and Evaluation, a two-year national initiative to further engage the clinical research and translational science communities in efforts that will accelerate development and adoption of modern methodologies in the consideration of race in clinical equations.
Many widely used clinical equations and algorithms incorporate race as an input variable. A growing body of evidence shows that the routine or poorly justified use of race can obscure underlying causes of health differences, weaken scientific rigor, and reinforce inequities in patient care. ENGAGE will tackle this challenge through a coordinated, evidence-based effort spanning the scientific, clinical, and publishing communities.
Collaborators
The initiative builds on the work of the Encoding Equity Alliance, also led by CMSS and funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, which advances the responsible use of race in clinical algorithms. ENGAGE further extends this work into the clinical research and translational science space to support the development of methodological standards.
Coordinated by CMSS, with collaborators MDCalc, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS), and Felicity T. Enders, PhD, MPH, Translational Science Methodologist, this project will accelerate field-wide adoption of modern methodologies in the consideration of race in clinical equations and invite a broad community to propose evidence-based approaches for the assessment and revision of algorithms.
“Clinical algorithms affect how patients are diagnosed, what treatments they’re offered, and even whether they qualify for certain interventions. This initiative brings together the thought leaders and organizations across science and research that are best positioned to update methodologic standards for how these tools are built, evaluated, and taught — and to ensure that modern methodologies replace outdated approaches that will drive evidence-based practices for all.”
Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, CEO, CMSS, and ENGAGE Project Lead
Core Objectives
The ENGAGE initiative will pursue three core objectives:
- Engage a broad community of scientists and clinicians with the expertise and influence to shape how clinical algorithms are developed, taught, and implemented across the field.
- Assess, identify, and prioritize high-impact clinical algorithms for redesign, and invite researchers nationwide to propose evidence-based approaches to revision.
- Equip clinician-scientists, researchers, and data scientists with practical tools and shared standards for evaluating the role of race in clinical decision-making, while updating methodological guidance for scientific and medical journals.
Further Information
ENGAGE is an initiative of the Encoding Equity Alliance, a CMSS-led program funded by the Doris Duke Foundation that advances the responsible use of race in clinical algorithms across the house of medicine.
We look forward to sharing more opportunities to get involved in ENGAGE as project plans progress.