JEDI Committee Focuses on Latine Family Physicians Andrea Banuelos Mota, MD & Sheryl Recinos, MD California is home to more than 39.4 million individuals 1 , each Conducting these focus groups gave us unique insight with a unique story, heritage, and dreams. Members of CAFP into the needs of Latine family physicians in California. We dedicate their lives to making our communities healthier appreciate the invaluable ideas and stories shared within and safer. One of the first activities for the recently formed these focus groups and expect it will lead to change. In the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee was spirit of JEDI principles, we feel that we can continue this format to learn more about the needs of other marginalized to survey CAFP leadership to gather baseline demographic groups within CAFP. information about CAFP leadership in support of advancing diversity at the CAFP. To provide context for the data, the Our team was honored to take on this important assignment committee also compared data from other sources when because we feel that increasing Latine representation within relevant, including the California Healthcare Foundation, CA the family physician workforce as well as CAFP will create census and composite membership "Latine" is a gender-neutral term used lasting change for our communities. records. From this, we confirmed We are encouraged by the that both within California’s family to refer to people of Latin American overwhelmingly positive responses medicine workforce and within heritage, offering an alternative to the from participants, CAFP committees CAFP leadership, there is a lack of gendered terms "Latino" and "Latina." and leadership when discussing this Latine representation. While Latine project. It's gaining traction, particularly folks make up 39% of California’s Throughout our focus groups, within LGBTQIA+ and non-binary population, only 13% of CAFP leadership includes family physicians communities, as a more inclusive and we met with enthusiastic Latine 2 from Latine descent . The JEDI easily pronounceable option in both physicians who are already leaders in their own communities, and Committee then committed to English and Spanish. we look forward to learning from study this population within CAFP their responses how we can better membership by holding focus groups with members of the meet the needs of all the current and future Latine family Latine family physician community to better understand physicians in California. While we are immensely grateful potential barriers and drivers of membership engagement. for each participant that joined us and shared part of their Members of the JEDI committee recruited Latine family journey as family physicians in our beautiful state, we realize physicians to participate in the focus groups. The committee that there are so many more physicians who have stories developed a consent form, an online survey, and a one-hour to share and ideas that can help create lasting change. We focus group for participants to complete. The four focus want to make sure everyone knows that CAFP is always groups were conducted virtually in May 2025 with each listening, and if you have ideas, feel free to reach out to session led by two facilitators --one to lead discussion program staff at jedi@familydocs.org. We look forward to and the other to take notes. Each focus group session sharing our study results with you soon. included 3-6 participants with a total of 17 participants. Of History of the JEDI Committee the participants, 10 were from Southern California, 5 from As part of CAFP’s commitment to all the patients in our Northern California, 1 from the Central Valley, 16 were CAFP diverse state, CAFP’s Board of Directors shifted their focus members and 1 was a non-member. towards promotion of health equity in 2020. CAFP policy Our next steps are crucial to learning from this important states that “every person has a right to comprehensive, study. We are currently analyzing the data from each of our high-quality health services delivered in a timely, culturally-focus groups, and we will report our findings in the coming competent and economically sustainable manner regardless months. We will prepare a summary of recommendations for of their age, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic the CAFP Board of Directors and general membership, so location, income, health status, or immigration status (1).” that we can take what we have learned and encourage more Stemming from this new focus, a task force was formed to Latine representation within CAFP. tackle the pressing issues of justice, equity, diversity, and 22 California Family Physician Fall 2025
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