Healthcare Matters: Providing Health Services to Diverse Populations

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Healthcare Matters Providing Health Services to
Diverse Populations

• Susan Barkan Maria Carlos
• Public Health Seattle King County
• Melanie Whitfield
• People of Color Against AIDS Network
• Christine Achre
• Beacon Therapeutic Diagnostic and Treatment
  Center
• Susan Kline
• Public Health Seattle King County

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One Size Does Not Fit All
Trends in opioid prescribing by race/ethnicity
for patients seeking care in US emergency
departments
Invisible Tribes Urban Indians and Their Health
in a Changing World
Overweight? Blame Your Zip Code
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Health Disparities

• Are population-specific differences in the
  presence of disease, health outcomes, or access
  to health care.

Goldberg, J., Hayes, W., and Huntley, J.
"Understanding Health Disparities." Health Policy
Institute of Ohio (November 2004), page 3. From
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_disparities,
retrieved 2/6/08.
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Health Disparities

• Affects a population group ethnicity, race,
  gender, age, sexual orientation, geographic
• Inequality or Inequity
• Unjust or unfair
• A chain of events signified by differences in
• Environment
• Access to, utilization of, and quality of care
• Health status
• A health outcome that deserves scrutiny

Carter-Pokras, OC Baquet, C. What is a health
disparity? Public health reports, 2002,
117426-434.
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Institute of Medicine Report

• Inequity in healthcare is the consequence of
• patient-provider interactions
• -stereotypes
• -clinical uncertainty
• -prejudice held by providers
• the systems of care

Institute of Medicine. Unequal treatment
confronting racial and ethnic disparities in
health care. 2003. http//www.nap.edu/openbook.ph
p?record_id10260pageR1
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Health is More Than Healthcare

• social conditions are as important to our
  health as our genes, our behaviors, and even our
  medical care.
• The single strongest predictor of our health is
  our position on the class ladder.
• Racism imposes an added health burden.
• Chronic stress can be deadly.

10 Things to Know about Health. Unnatural
Causesis inequality making us sick?
www.unnaturalcauses.org/default.html
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Eliminating Health Disparities
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Eliminating Health Disparities
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Eliminating Health Disparities
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Healthcare Matters Providing Healthful Living
Conditions Services to Diverse Populations

• Susan Barkan Maria Carlos
• Public Health Seattle King County
• Melanie Whitefield
• People of Color Against AIDS Network
• Christine Achre
• Beacon Therapeutic Diagnostic and Treatment
  Center
• Susan Kline
• Public Health Seattle King County

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What can advocates do?

• Practice preparing for health visits with clients
• Know what to expect during a visit
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• http//familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home.html
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• http//www.aap.org/parents.html
• MedlinePlus www.medlineplus.gov
• Make a list of questions
• Practice key questions/statements Is this the
  usual care people get? Or I dont have
  permanent housing right now so making any change
  would be hard.
• Establish care with a sole provider team a
  Health Home

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What can advocates do?

• Organizational Strategies
• Communication with patients
• Services that are available when patients are
• Provider Education
• Research
• Societal Strategies

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www.unnaturalcauses.org/default.html
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To Learn More About Health Disparities

• Minority Health Topics Institute of Medicine of
  the National Academies
• http//www.iom.edu/CMS/18007.aspx
• Innovation in Medical Education Video Library
  http//videos.med.wisc.edu/event.php?eventid2
• Families USA Minority Health Initiative
• http//www.familiesusa.org/issues/minority-health/
  

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Resources for Healthcare Providers

• National Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians
  Network www.nhchc.org
• Association of Clinicians for the Underserved
  www.clinicians.org
• Homeless Resource Center www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov