Now more than ever, the lack of racial and ethnic diversity must be addressed within the health care system, specifically in occupational therapy. This change starts with the successful completion of educational programs by underrepresented minority (URM) occupational therapy students. To increase diversity in the profession, accrediting bodies should mandate support for students of all backgrounds to be successful in higher education. As addressed in the American Occupational Therapy Association 2020 Code of Ethics, the Vision 2025 statement and its pillars, current knowledge on health disparities and occupational therapy demographic data, and other health professional programs’ accreditation standards, there is a need for an addition to, or revision of, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) standards to support the recruitment and retention of URM occupational therapy students. What This Article Adds: This column provides an evidence-based rationale to address the need for an ACOTE standard requiring documented efforts to support racial and ethnic diversity within occupational therapy education.

No abstract

Older adults from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds and with low vision have independently been found to be at an increased risk of depression. This retrospective cross-sectional pilot study found that non-White older adults with low vision reported significantly more depressive symptoms than White older adults with low vision (P = .005). When controlling for diagnosis and functional impairment, the relationship was no longer significant. Older adults with low vision from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups may be more at risk for depression than White older adults with low vision, with comorbid visual conditions potentially contributing to this relationship.