Turning diversity from a barrier to a facilitator of empathy in healthcare

Diversity is on the rise globally. To mention just a few of diversity’s dimensions in the UK, 10 million (14.5%) of the country’s citizens were born outside the UK, 9 million (14%) of the population is non-White, and there are six main religions with at least 250 000 adherents.1 A similar picture presents itself in many other parts of the world. In the US, 45 million (14%) of the population were born outside the country, 204 million (almost 40%) belong to ethnic minority communities, and there are 11 religions with at least 1 million adherents.