The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69119

Romana Hasnain Wynia, PhD and Debra Pierce, BA. Health Research and Educational Trust, One North Franklin, 30th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, 312-422-2643, rhasnain@aha.org

Eliminating disparities has become a central challenge for health care delivery in the United States. The Health Research and Educational Trust, the research and educational affiliate of the American Hospital Association, is working with a consortium of six leading hospitals to develop a program that will be a critical part of the effort to eliminate disparities. These hospitals/health systems include: Massachusetts General Hospital, Henry Ford Health System, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Parkland Memorial Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System, and Kaiser Permanente (Northern California). The consortium has many long-standing goals, which range from developing a uniform framework for collecting race, ethnicity and primary language data at hospitals to implementing clinical interventions targeting diabetes, asthma, and cardiovascular conditions to improve the quality of health care for vulnerable populations. However, in order to successfully accomplish these goals, an instrumental partnership between the community and the hospital is essential. We will describe how these six hospitals are working with their individual communities to address and reduce disparities in health. We know that many interpersonal factors related to culture, potential provider bias, and language may contribute to these disparities. We also know that there are system–level characteristics that may offer some explanation. This session will draw attention to the intersection of these factors and how to best address them as hospitals work together with the communities they serve to eliminate disparities.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Articulate how a consortium of leading hospitals systematically works toward addressing and eliminating disparities in their communities.
• 2. Understand the components of how hospitals can design clinical interventions to improve quality of care by engaging the community from the beginning.
• 3. Define the convergence of specific individual level factors (community level) with system-based factors that contribute to disparities in health.

Keywords: Partnerships, Minority Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.