Initiatives address racial and ethnic disparities in care

AORN Journal, Dec, 2005

A group of national health care experts has announced three new initiatives to identify and test interventions aimed at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare during the next three years, according to an Oct 6, 2005, news release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The 2002 Institute of Medicine report "Unequal Treatment" provided unquestionable evidence that racial and ethnic minorities were more likely to receive lower-quality care than whites, particularly when being treated for heart disease of cancer. The new initiatives will focus on developing practical solutions to racial and ethnic disparities in health care that can be tested and duplicated in real-world clinical settings.

The first initiative, "Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care," will involve 10 hospitals collaborating to systematically measure and enhance the quality of cardiac care in their facilities. The program will focus on improving cardiovascular care for African-American and Latino patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Through the "Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change" initiative, researchers will award and manage research grants totaling $5 million to facilities that implement and evaluate interventions aimed at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in care. This initiative likely will focus on evaluating interventions in treatment areas where the evidence of disparities is strong and the recommended standard of care is clear, such as in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, depression, and diabetes.

The "Leading Change: Disparities Solutions Initiative" will have two key functions: to synthesize and disseminate the results of other disparities projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and to use these results to help health care systems develop and implement successful disparities interventions. This initiative will disseminate these tactics through web conferences, program newsletters, and an Executive Disparities Institute that will provide hands-on technical assistance and advice on eliminating disparities to health care providers nationwide.

Three National Initiatives Aimed At Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Treatment Unveiled Today (news release, Washington, DC: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundotion, Oct 6, 2005) http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/newsreteasesdetail.jsp?id=10368 (accessed 7 Oct 2005).