Examining Race in Healthcare-Focused HCI Research

The human-computer interaction community has a long tradition of conducting research in healthcare settings. We conducted a systematic review of how race is defined and discussed in healthcare-focused HCI research. Beginning with an initial set of 514 articles drawn from two major HCI venues, we applied exclusion criteria resulting in a data set of 29 articles. We found considerable variation in definitions of race across articles, with some focusing on physical appearances, others on sociocultural differences, and still others not providing any explicit definition of race. This variation was further reflected in the method used to identify participants race and the level of specificity used in categorizing participants’ race and ethnicity. Additionally, many articles engagement with race and racial disparities in minor ways, with some articles proposing racial equity as an avenue for future work without attending to race in their current investigation. Finally, we found that most articles studied patients and end users, leaving unexamined the practices and perspectives of healthcare practitioners and institutions. We conclude with suggestions advocating greater clarity and consciousness around race, racism, and racial disparities in healthcare focused HCI research.