Recommendations for Enhancing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Indigenization in Physical Activity and Health Research

Background: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) offer resources and support to promote Indigenization and EDIA (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) in Canadian health research. However, there is a notable absence of practical guidance, limiting optimal engagement and integration of these valued and crucial research priorities.

Purpose: To develop priorities and recommendations for enhancing Indigenization and EDIA in physical activity and health research.

Methods: This three-phased project comprised: 1) a mapping review, 2) a survey of post-secondary administrators leading physical activity or kinesiology departments/faculties, and 3) a two-day qualitative focus group meeting involving six kinesiology researchers with intersectional identities. The six researchers convened on Treaty 7 territory, Banff, Alberta, in February 2024 for the two-day meeting. This gathering provided a dedicated time and space for the researchers to share their lived experiences and formulate specific priorities and recommendations.

Results: There was strong agreement to focus on three key audiences—academic institutions, funding agencies, and academic societies—centred around three core areas: 1) providing clear and distinctive definitions and actions pertaining to Indigeneity and EDIA, 2) establishing and fostering the creation of a culture of Indigenization and EDIA through engaging various actors as agents of change, and 3) promoting “top-down” sustainable and systemic changes by challenging existing merit systems rooted in a colonial patriarchy.

Conclusions: The focus group identified a crucial need for clear and distinctive definitions, cultural transformation, and systemic changes to enhance Indigenization and EDIA in physical activity and health research in Canada and beyond. Specific actions are provided for each of the three target audiences.

Practical implications: These insights lay a foundation for actionable recommendations that can guide future directions and initiatives of academic institutions, funding agencies, and academic societies, collectively fostering meaningful and sustainable advancements in Indigenization and EDIA.

Funding: This project is supported by CIHR.