Becker's Hospital Review

31 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP Pandemic increased loneliness more for women than men, research finds By Gabrielle Masson R esearchers found a significant increase in loneliness and a decrease in feelings of friendship during the pandemic, with disproportion- ate negative effects among women and those with poorer health, according to a study published Feb. 20 in Social Science & Medicine. Researchers with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic compared survey results from 1,996 patients who completed a questionnaire in February 2018 and again during the stay-at-home orders across much of the U.S. in May 2020. The questions were split into six areas of support: emotional, logistical, friendship, loneliness, perceived rejection and perceived hostility. Women reported higher levels of loneliness during the pandemic compared to men. The largest change in areas of support was a decrease in friendships, followed by an increase in loneliness. Additionally, individuals with more health problems may experience the greatest negative effect on emotional support during significant social change, said Jon Ebbert, MD, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. However, researchers did note an increase in emotional and logistical support, and a decrease in perceived hostility. n Hiring diverse talent doesn't always indicate inclusivity, experts say By Hannah Mitchell M any companies have pledged to diversify their workforces, but diversifying may isolate the same people it's meant to help, according to Harvard Business Review. Lori Nishiura Mackenzie and Melissa Abad, PhD, of the Stanford VMware Women's Leadership Lab work with managers seeking to diversify their tal- ent. Ms. Mackenzie and Dr. Abad report that many of these organizations don't create a culture where people of color feel included. They said that the term "diverse" includes everyone who is not a white, hetero- sexual, nonveteran, able-bodied man. The term "diverse" is misused as short- hand for the underrepresented and lumps a wide range of people together. Ms. Nishiura and Dr. Abad said measuring more categories of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability and status assists companies attempting to measure inclusion success. "By lumping everyone together, the organization is implying, if unintentionally, that the addition of an Asian woman replaces the loss of a Black man," they said. Ms. Mackenzie and Ms. Abad advised that organizations be clear in the hiring process that they promote inclusion and ask candidates how they have con- tributed to diversity and inclusion in their past roles. "[It] may seem like additional work on top of an already full workload. Instead, consider the cost of not doing so, especially to your colleagues of color," they said. n Becker's 11th Annual Meeting Speaker Series: 3 questions with Dignity Health's Shelly Schorer By Virginia Egizio S helly Schorer serves as CFO for Dignity Health's Bay Area hospitals in California. Ms. Schorer will participate in the panel "Strategies to Lead and Achieve Financial Excellence as a Health System" at Becker's Hospital Review 11th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak or have spoken at the virtual conference. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited. Question: What's one change brought on by the coronavirus pan- demic that you'd like to see stick, es- pecially in healthcare? Shelly Schorer: First the growth in digital and virtual visits. e expansion of digital has allowed patients to seek appropriate care for less acute outpatient cases and kept them out of the busy emergency rooms. is, however, still leaves a gap for the indi- gent and homeless population that may not have access to digital platforms, so it still needs attention. We have seen this through the vaccine rollout process. Q: What is one essential trait lead- ers need to lead effectively in healthcare today? SS: Bias for action and fluidity to adapt to change. Q: What would you like to see as the defining theme of 2021 for your industry? SS: I am going to plagiarize our Northern Cal- ifornia Division President Todd Strumwas- ser, MD. He said we would like to see health equity as a defining theme in 2021. n

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