Reducing Disparities in Health Outcomes News

For the 61 million people who live in rural America, their local hospital provides essential services and programs to advance their health and the health of their communities.

The AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity seeks applicants and host sites through Feb. 4 for its Summer Enrichment Program, which pairs graduate students studying health care or a related field with a health care organization.

AHA Trustee Services’ latest Boardroom Brief highlights the board's role in health equity and how hospital and health system boards can prioritize health equity at their organizations.

An overarching approach to the coming year can be summed up as “letting the data speak and guide us,” writes Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president for health equity strategies and executive director of the organization’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity.

As hospitals and health systems continue to grapple with financial constraints, members of the Leadership Council from AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity share their expertise about how organizations can continue to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The deadline to apply for the Executive Certificate in Diversity and Health Equity, a 10-month fellowship managed by AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, has been extended to Jan. 12.

Chicago-based RUSH University Medical Center launched its Community Health Workers Hub in 2018 to provide CHWs with the support they need to help combat health and life expectancy inequities throughout the city of Chicago.

The Health Insurance Marketplace for the District of Columbia is encouraging labs to remove race as a variable in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) formula commonly used to measure kidney function, as recommended by the National Kidney Foundation and American Society of Nephrology to support health equity.

Health Services Research, the flagship publication of AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust, Nov. 28 released with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a special edition focused on health equity.

States interested in participating in Cohort 1 or 2 of the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development Model may apply until 3 p.m. on March 18 and are encouraged to submit a letter of intent by Feb. 5, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Nov. 16.

The AHA, AHIP, Alliance of Community Health Plans, American Medical Association and Kaiser Permanente have formed a coalition that will recommend strategies to strengthen coordination between the health care and public health systems to improve emergency preparedness, address health disparities and detect infectious diseases.

AHA and its Institute for Diversity and Health Equity at the 38th National Association of Health Services Executives (N.A.H.S.E.) Annual Education Conference in Atlanta hosted Understanding Bias in Black Maternal Health, which included a screening of “Toxic: A Black Woman’s Story.”

Two maternal health experts explore common disparities and systemic barriers Indigenous people experience in pregnancy and postpartum, and ways hospitals and health care organizations can combat these challenges to provide culturally-focused care.

The AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity Oct. 24 launched the Equity Transformation Partner program to connect AHA members with practitioners and service providers who can help them advance on their diversity, inclusion and health equity journey in alignment with AHA’s Health Equity Roadmap.

Two leaders from South Dakota-based Monument Health discuss the rural health system’s health equity journey, which captured this year’s AHA Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award for excellence in advancing health equity in rural or small communities.

Delivering quality health care to all individuals in our communities — and ensuring they can easily access needed health services — is a top priority for hospital and health system leaders and teams.

Meritus Health executive director of behavioral and community health services discusses his organization’s health equity work, which captured a 2023 AHA Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award.

In this conversation, Franck Nelson, RWJUH assistant vice president of health equity, discusses the big steps the organization has taken to dismantle equity barriers in its care delivery system and the community it serves.

In a new video for Hispanic Heritage Month, José R. Sánchez, CEO of Humboldt Park Health in Chicago, reflects on rising from humble beginnings as a Latino immigrant to lead an organization that serves a diverse minority community.

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.