Health Affairs article examines role of health equity officers in addressing health care disparities

An article published in Health Affairs examines hospital equity officers’ roles and actions to address the leading factors that contribute to health care disparities, including structural racism. The mixed-methods study, which included surveying and interviewing hospital equity officers, may be viewed as an “early glimpse” into the challenges and opportunities experienced by these individuals since many of these positions have only been recently established. 
 
“To ensure equity officers’ success, it will be necessary for hospitals to perform comprehensive and critical self-examinations of their policies and procedures, which may include empowering diverse forms of hospital leadership, assigning accountability, and providing the necessary resources to accomplish objectives,” the article states. 
 
The article was authored by individuals at the AHA, Mass General Hospital and other organizations and is a part of a special issue from Health Affairs on Tackling Structural Racism in Health.