The Evolution of Academic Medical Discourse on Equity and Inclusion (2005-2025): Implications for Social Work and Equitable Health Communication

The research analyses the evolution of academic medical discourse on equity and inclusion between 2005 and 2025, based on a PubMed query that generated 735 articles and 1,761 relevant terms. The bibliometric and co-occurrence analysis performed with VOSviewer revealed a profound transformation in medical language: from diversity and representation to equity, reflexivity and social responsibility. The results indicate the existence of three major spheres of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) academic discourse: (1) the educational dimension, focused on curriculum, empathic communication and cultural competence; (2) the professional dimension, focused on gender equity and representation in academic leadership; and (3) the identity dimension, focused on racial and ethnic inclusion. Current medical language is becoming increasingly reflexive, emphasising communication, trust, empathy and language equity as forms of discursive justice. In this context, social work occupies a strategic intermediate position, translating and operationalising medical equity in social terms, acting on the social determinants of health and contributing to the formation of a common language of social justice in health. The conclusions suggest the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between medicine and social work to develop a common lexicon of equity, capable of uniting clinical equity and social equity in an integrative framework of inclusion and human responsibility.


Keywords: equity, inclusion, medical education, academic discourse, social work, equitable communication, bibliometric analysis