Sarah Louden, MHA, MBA, Founder and CEO of Total Health; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Cancer Equity Project.
Despite more than 40 years of healthcare system-based efforts to promote equity, health disparities continue—and have even worsened in some cases.
Over time, the definition of health equity has expanded to include the concept of “opportunity” to achieve the highest level of health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health equity is attained when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential due to perceived social position or other socially determined circumstances.
In the United States, there is a great deal of work to be done in order to move the nation closer to achieving health equity. The greatly disproportionate burden of Covid-19-related infections and deaths among Black, Latin and Asian populations as well as Indigenous peoples and Pacific Islanders has laid bare the consequences of ignoring the structural conditions that shape health. Cancer care is another area in which there, unfortunately, are significant inequities across the healthcare landscape—including disparities and blind spots in education, training, delivery, access, prevention and incidence.
Addressing health disparities requires a multi-pronged approach involving various stakeholders, including leaders at medical colleges and nursing colleges and providers of continuing medical education (CME).
How Medical Education Can Lead To Greater Health Equity
I believe that medical education is at the core of improving health justice in healthcare. As the chairman of the board of directors for the Cancer Equity Project, I also know that continuing medical education in oncology is a field in which improved awareness of healthcare disparities—tied to an increased commitment to a more diverse care workforce, improved patient access to high-quality care and treatment and the latest advances in cutting-edge learning—can help make all of healthcare better by making it more just and more equitable.
Here are eight measures healthcare leaders can take:
1. Bake health equity and cultural competence into curricula.
Colleges and CME providers should make sure that health equity and cultural competence are integrated into their educational programs, including such topics as implicit bias, the social determinants of health and the influence of cultural factors on healthcare outcomes.
2. Provide ongoing training and professional development.
CME providers should offer workshops on health disparities that will enable healthcare professionals to stay current on the latest research, best practices and interventions with which to effectively address health disparities.
3. Encourage research and data collection.
Conducting research regarding health disparities and the effectiveness of interventions is vital. Aggregating and analyzing data on health outcomes in different populations can offer insights to guide evidence-based interventions.
4. Advance a culture of inclusivity.
Establishing a supportive and inclusive environment within colleges and medical education settings is crucial. This should include promoting anti-racist policies, encouraging respectful communication and addressing both institutional bias and discrimination.
5. Expand diversity and representation in healthcare delivery.
Recruiting people from underrepresented backgrounds and equipping them with support and mentorship can contribute to a more equitable healthcare workforce.
6. Grow community engagement.
Joining with local communities and community organizations may enable colleges and CME providers to gain a deeper appreciation of the specific health needs and challenges encountered by underserved populations. Community collaboration can lead to the formation of targeted interventions and policies that effectively tackle health disparities.
7. Champion policy change.
This may include supporting initiatives that enhance access to healthcare, expanding health insurance coverage and addressing systemic barriers that contribute to inequities in healthcare delivery.
8. Modernize medical education to improve both care and equity.
Outdated content, a rigid and standardized approach to curricula, high costs, lack of opportunity to incorporate new knowledge into clinical practice and limited use of technology-forward, virtual and case-based programs are among the many factors that can hinder health professionals from getting the most up-to-date information and knowledge.
By committing to the implementation of these strategies, colleges and providers of continuing medical education can be at the forefront of reducing health disparities, improving health equity and advancing medical education. However, it’s important for us to recognize that addressing systemic issues requires collaborative efforts involving multiple sectors, including healthcare systems, policymakers, communities and individuals.
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