For those not already familiar, the AUA Science and Quality Council coordinates activities across the Data Committee, Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) Committee, and the Practice Guidelines Committee (PGC). The efforts across our Committees are fully aligned with the broad—and welcome!—movement in the AUA to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in urology.

Several streams of work in the Data Committee advance this agenda. The AUA Census, about to celebrate its 10th year, has provided invaluable insights into urology practice and the urology workforce, including those currently in practice as well as in the training pipeline. In the area of workforce, the Census has provided uniquely granular data on disparities in access in rural areas, race and gender disparities in the workforce, and the gender pay and promotion gaps. Elsewhere in this issue, Dr Amanda North, Chair of the Data Committee, details this important work as well as opportunities to enhance our understanding of the LGBTQ+ workforce in urology. In February, the AUA Board of Directors approved creation of a new Data Research Program as a vehicle to democratize access to data in the Census as well as the AUA Quality (AQUA) Registry, with statistical support from AUA staff for selected projects designed to support a broader range of researchers who may not have such resources readily available in their local environment. Research proposals addressing health equity are encouraged and will receive priority review. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting program in a forthcoming issue of AUANews!

Health care quality and DEI are interrelated and essential components of providing effective and equitable health care. Several elements within the QIPS Committee’s work across measurement and quality improvement align with recommendations from groups within and outside the AUA to address health care disparities. Both the AUA’s D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) Task Force Report and the American Board of Medical Specialties’ new Standards for Continuing Certification underscored the importance of our deliberate and intentional focus on addressing health care disparities as we develop the quality agenda for the field. The QIPS team is coordinating efforts with the D&I Task Force to operationalize their quality-related recommendations and will be including a new measure on Social Determinants of Health in the AQUA Registry this coming performance year. Finally, the AQUA team published on the AUA website “Advancing Health Equity: Addressing Disparities in Prostate Cancer Care,” a playbook with case studies of successful efforts to improve care for the large population of Black men with prostate cancer.

Given our support for an inclusive environment promoting diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, viewpoint, practice setting, and geographic location, in 2021 the AUA PGC made significant changes in its Guideline Panel formation process to enhance diversity and inclusion of subject matter experts representative of the entire urological community. Both members and nonmembers are now invited to explore available engagement opportunities and apply for panel membership through the AUA Guidelines website, with invitations to participate disseminated broadly through the AUA’s communications infrastructure. Further, AUA PGC continues to welcome patients and patient advocates to serve on panels and review Guidelines to ensure inclusion of the perspectives of both the multidisciplinary team members providing care as well as those patients undergoing treatment for increasingly complicated urological conditions.

We have more work to do to achieve our DEI goals, and I’m grateful for the many leaders across our physicians and AUA staff in the Science and Quality Council. Please join us and share your ideas for how we might do even more (my email: mnielsen@med.unc.edu).