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AIMS Medical Science

2024, Volume 11, Issue 2: 170-180. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2024014
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Moving the needle forward in health disparities: An education initiative

  • 1.
    College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, USA
  • 2.
    Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Sciences University, USA
  • 3.
    Arizona Center for Cancer Care, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, USA
  • 4.
    Department of Gastroenterology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, USA
  • Received: 05 February 2024 Revised: 24 May 2024 Accepted: 17 June 2024 Published: 25 June 2024

  • ObjectiveThis paper sought to evaluate the impact of a year-long Health Equity Curriculum (HEC) on the knowledge of health disparities, cross-cultural humility, and empathy among physicians, trainees, and research staff.BackgroundThere has been an increase in the inclusion of equity, cultural humility, and the social determinants of health into medical education at various levels. However, the frequency of this education is low and not well quantified or defined. The authors report the results of an education program, namely the HEC, on the knowledge of health disparities, cross-cultural humility, and empathy.Materials and methodsThe HEC was delivered between March 2020 and May 2021. It included the following four modules: the social determinants of health, cultural humility, health literacy, and unconscious bias. The participants attended lectures and reviewed articles/videos using online modules and reflection assignments. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Cross-Cultural Competence Instrument for Health Care Professionals (CCCHP) were administered pre- and post-HEC. The results were statistically analyzed.ResultsOf the 102 enrolled participants, 46 completed the entire course. The JSE showed a statistically significant improvement in the empathy scores from pre-HEC to post-HEC (p < 0.01). The CCCHP showed a significant improvement from pre-HEC to post-HEC total scores and in subcomponent scores of Motivation/Curiosity, Attitude, and Knowledge (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in scores for the Skills and Emotions/Empathy subcomponents.ConclusionsEnrollment and completion in the HEC were associated with statistically significant improvements in the validated measures of cultural competence and empathy. Scaling this type of content and curriculum can educate professionals on equity and serving diverse communities. A further study is warranted.

    Citation: Swapna B Reddy, Matthew J Speer, Jessica Todsen, Subhakar Mutyala, Niloy Jewel L Samadder, Giovanna GG Moreno, Yerronda L Lewis, Farhia M Omar, Shambhavi Mishra, Sarah B Umar. Moving the needle forward in health disparities: An education initiative[J]. AIMS Medical Science, 2024, 11(2): 170-180. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2024014

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  • ObjectiveThis paper sought to evaluate the impact of a year-long Health Equity Curriculum (HEC) on the knowledge of health disparities, cross-cultural humility, and empathy among physicians, trainees, and research staff.BackgroundThere has been an increase in the inclusion of equity, cultural humility, and the social determinants of health into medical education at various levels. However, the frequency of this education is low and not well quantified or defined. The authors report the results of an education program, namely the HEC, on the knowledge of health disparities, cross-cultural humility, and empathy.Materials and methodsThe HEC was delivered between March 2020 and May 2021. It included the following four modules: the social determinants of health, cultural humility, health literacy, and unconscious bias. The participants attended lectures and reviewed articles/videos using online modules and reflection assignments. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) and the Cross-Cultural Competence Instrument for Health Care Professionals (CCCHP) were administered pre- and post-HEC. The results were statistically analyzed.ResultsOf the 102 enrolled participants, 46 completed the entire course. The JSE showed a statistically significant improvement in the empathy scores from pre-HEC to post-HEC (p < 0.01). The CCCHP showed a significant improvement from pre-HEC to post-HEC total scores and in subcomponent scores of Motivation/Curiosity, Attitude, and Knowledge (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in scores for the Skills and Emotions/Empathy subcomponents.ConclusionsEnrollment and completion in the HEC were associated with statistically significant improvements in the validated measures of cultural competence and empathy. Scaling this type of content and curriculum can educate professionals on equity and serving diverse communities. A further study is warranted.

    Abbreviations

    CCCHP

    Cross-Cultural Competence instrument for Healthcare Professionals

         HEC

    Health Equity Curriculum

         JSE

    Jefferson Scale of Empathy
    加载中


    Ethics approval of research


    The Institutional Review Boards at the research university and the academic healthcare system determined that the protocol for this study was considered exempt pursuant to Federal Regulations 45CFR46 on March 8, 2020.

    Conflict of interests


    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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