Best Practices for Promoting Health Equity and Addressing Disparities in Care
Health equity is the principle that everyone should have a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential and that no one should be disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of their social position or other socially determined circumstance (World Health Organization, 2020). Health disparities are the differences in health outcomes and their determinants between different segments of the population, such as racial/ethnic groups, gender, socioeconomic status, or geographic location (Healthy People 2030, 2021).
Health equity and health disparities are closely related concepts that have significant implications for the quality and effectiveness of health care delivery. Promoting health equity and addressing disparities in care are not only ethical and moral obligations, but also strategic and economic ones. According to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017), eliminating health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities would have reduced direct medical care expenditures by $230 billion and indirect costs associated with illness and premature death by $1.24 trillion between 2003 and 2006.
Therefore, it is imperative that health care providers, organizations, and systems adopt best practices for promoting health equity and addressing disparities in care. Some of these best practices are:
– Collecting and using data on patients’ race, ethnicity, language preference, socioeconomic status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other relevant social determinants of health to identify and monitor disparities in care quality, access, utilization, outcomes, and patient satisfaction (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2019).
– Providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services that respect and respond to the diverse needs, preferences, values, and expectations of patients and their communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013).
– Implementing evidence-based interventions that target the specific causes and mechanisms of disparities in care, such as implicit bias training, patient navigation programs, community health workers, telehealth services, and social prescribing (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2020).
– Engaging patients and communities as partners in the design, delivery, evaluation, and improvement of health care services and policies that affect them (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
– Building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the communities served and fosters a culture of equity, respect, and collaboration among staff at all levels (American Hospital Association, 2019).
By adopting these best practices, health care providers, organizations, and systems can contribute to the reduction of health disparities and the improvement of health equity for all. This will not only benefit the health and well-being of individuals and populations, but also the sustainability and competitiveness of the health care sector.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Disparities interventions. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/health-equity/disparities-interventions/index.html
American Hospital Association. (2019). Diversity dialogue: Building a diverse workforce to eliminate health care disparities. Retrieved from https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2019/12/diversity-dialogue-building-a-diverse-workforce-to-eliminate-health-care-disparities.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Community engagement: Definitions
and organizing concepts from the literature. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/phcommunities/resourcekit/define.html
Healthy People 2030. (2021). Disparities. Retrieved from https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/social-determinants-health/disparities
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2019). Achieving health equity: A guide for health
care organizations. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/IHIWhitePapers/Achieving-Health-Equity.aspx
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Communities in action: Pathways to health equity. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24624/communities-in-action-pathways-to-health-equity
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2013). National standards for culturally
and linguistically appropriate services in health and health care: A blueprint for advancing
and sustaining CLAS policy and practice. Retrieved from https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/assets/pdf/checked/finalreport.pdf
World Health Organization. (2020). Health equity. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/topics/health_equity/en/
