Bridging Health Equity Across Communities
April is National Minority Health Month, a time dedicated to improving health equity for racial and ethnic minorities on a national level. Established to advocate for furthering health equity, this year’s theme is “Bridging Health Equity Across Communities.”
What is health equity, and why is it important?
Minorities are more likely than Caucasians to forgo care due to cost, reports the Kaiser Family Foundation. See the breakdown here:
The Health Equity Institute defines health equity as the “attainment of the highest level of health for all people.” Achieving it requires establishing efforts to guarantee everyone has equal access to opportunities that enable them to live healthy lives. But this is not an easy task.
Minority groups in Pennsylvania and around the country often face health disparities due to social, economic, and environmental factors.
A report on Pennsylvania’s health care landscape revealed several health and health care access disparities in the state. For example:
- 27% of surveyed African-Americans and 23% of Hispanics reported being in fair or poor general health, compared to 16% of Caucasians
- 36% of surveyed Hispanics and 18% of African-Americans reported having no usual source of care, compared to 12% of Caucasians
Additionally, Pennsylvanians who live in rural areas are more likely to have “unmet health needs” and poor access to health care than Pennsylvanians in urban areas.
How is Pennsylvania working to achieve health equity?
In 2015, the American Hospital Association launched a campaign #123forEquityPledge, which builds on a joint collaborative campaign known as the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. The #123ForEquity Pledge calls for leaders of hospitals and health systems to accelerate progress toward health equity by increasing:
- The collection and use of race, ethnicity, language preference and other socio-demographic data
- Cultural competency training
- Diversity in leadership and governance
Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems are working hard to ensure Pennsylvanians across the state receive high-quality, equitable and self care. The groups continue incorporate programs that will help eliminate the health and health care disparities that remain for many racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse populations.
In Pennsylvania alone, 67 hospitals have taken the #123Equity Pledge campaign to accelerate progress to eliminate health care disparities, while many others have introduced their own campaigns to address health disparities.
Main Line Health, a healthsystem serving the Philadelphia region, launched its Diversity, Respect and Inclusion initiative to cultivate a culture of diversity, inclusion and respect. Over the past decade, Main Line Health has:
- Emphasized creating a more diverse board by marrying an extensive list of leadership and business competencies with the critical need to ensure representation from the region’s diverse community
- Recruited and retained a diverse team to foster an informed and culturally sensitive management team
- Provided paid internships exclusively for summer interns recruited through the Summer Enrichment Program of the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity in Health Management.
- Conducted evidence-based assessments to identify disparities in patient treatment according to insurance status, gender, and racial and ethnic backgrounds, to inform better care
- Coordinated a Medical Student Advocate Program to provide patients with assistance for non-medical needs to improve health outcomes––students serve as non-clinical patient advocates, helping with such needs as food assistance, child care, health insurance, and housing search
Pennsylvania’s Office of Health Equity, now within the state Department of Health, is also working to implement policies and programs that result in a measurable and sustained improvement in health statuses of underserved and disparate populations.
Across the state, organizations such as Get Healthy Philly and the University of Pittsburgh Center for Health Equity are working to address health disparities in their communities.
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If you live in an area where access to health care is limited, learn how a community health center could bring accessible care to you.