HEAL

We spoke with Leon D. Caldwell, AHA’s senior director for health equity strategies and innovation and one of the Health Equity Roadmap’s architects, about its importance to hospitals and health systems.

Across health systems, equity, diversity and inclusion may require varying degrees of resources based on a hospital’s leadership, staff resources, geography and demographics. Here are recommendations to engage the hospitals in your system.

Providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services is key to advancing health equity, improving patient safety and quality of care and eliminating health disparities. This literature overview provides a series of resources intended to guide and empower efforts to reach this critical milepost.

Now is the time to evaluate how far we have come in closing gaps in health disparities, assess where health care is on the equity journey and take what we’ve learned to strengthen our organizations and communities through collaborative and innovative work — by investing in our neighborhoods and one another.

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the Health Equity Roadmap — an innovative framework to support hospitals and health systems in their efforts to become more equitable organizations and dismantle structural barriers to health and overall well-being.

Unequal Treatment offers recommendations for improvements in medical care financing, allocation of care, availability of language translation, community-based care, and other arenas. The committee highlights the potential of cross-cultural education to improve provider-patient communication and offers a detailed look at how to integrate cross-cultural learning within the health professions. The book concludes with recommendations for data collection and research initiatives.

Action Planning is a critical step in collectively advancing equity and dismantling structural barriers (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, etc.) in hospitals and health care systems. This Transformation Action Planner is for hospitals at Transforming on the Collection and Use of Data to Drive Action continuum.

Action Planning is a critical step in collectively advancing equity and dismantling structural barriers (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, etc.) in hospitals and health care systems. This Transformation Action Planner is for hospitals at Affirming on the Collection and Use of Data to Drive Action continuum.

Action Planning is a critical step in collectively advancing equity and dismantling structural barriers (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, etc.) in hospitals and health care systems. This Transformation Action Planner is for hospitals at Immersing on the Collection and Use of Data to Drive Action continuum.

Action Planning is a critical step in collectively advancing equity and dismantling structural barriers (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, etc.) in hospitals and health care systems. This Transformation Action Planner is for hospitals at Committing on the Collection and Use of Data to Drive Action continuum.

Action Planning is a critical step in collectively advancing equity and dismantling structural barriers (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism, etc.) in hospitals and health care systems. This Transformation Action Planner is for hospitals at Exploring on the Collection and Use of Data to Drive Action continuum.

This report looks at the different methods for collecting and analyzing data on race and ethnicity while also looking at government policies that enhance data disaggregation.

The third in the series, The Fenway Institute offers troubleshooting tips in implementing the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data such as adding SOGI questions to registration forms next to data regularly taken and how to best use the data recorded.

The second in the series, The Fenway Institute offers tips for collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data and building coalition support.

The first in a series, The Fenway Institute shares information on why collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data is beneficial.

The Health Leads Social Health Data Toolkit is designed for a range of healthcare teams seeking to effectively collect and apply social health program data.

This racial equity tool is designed to integrate explicit consideration of racial equity in decisions, including policies, practices, programs, and budgets.

This article looks at the benefits of utilizing data to establish metrics for tracking DEI goals. A suggestion is to empower employees to track and measure organizational DEI metrics.

This brief provides tips to help your organization get started with collecting and using demographic data, an essential tool for understanding the impact of your work.

This document makes suggestions for designing, implementing, and assessing the impact of programs and investments through gathering and analyzing demographic data ensuring responsive and relevant approaches to impact.

Geographic Information Systems

By collecting and stratifying patient race, ethnicity and language (REAL) data, hospitals and care systems can identify which, if any, health care disparities exist—and then target interventions to address the disparities. This 5-step framework outlines step by step how to stratify patient data.

This resource guide lays the groundwork for an equity roadmap to support hospitals’ and health systems’ efforts toward achieving high-quality, equitable care for all. It focuses on the beginnings of data collection.

Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) is a national effort to help health centers and providers use data to better understand their patients needs to improve their healthcare and reduce costs. The PRAPARE Screening Tool has been translated in over 25 languages to extend accessibility to the diverse populations you serve.

Health care organizations are on the front lines of addressing health equity, playing key roles in not only access and care delivery, but also as employers and as community members. Discover strategies for organizations to address health equity within their organizations and the communities they serve.