Health equity

Health equity is achieved when everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being. EQIC supports hospitals and health systems to advance health equity by:

• improving the collection of standardized race, ethnicity, preferred language and other patient demographics;
• using and stratifying REaL data to better inform patient-centered care and targeted QI interventions to eliminate health disparities; and
• applying cross-cutting, equity-focused strategies at the unit level to reduce harm and promote safety across the board.

Assessment

• Health equity gap analysis - EQIC

Toolkits and guidelines

• Quality roadmap for reducing healthcare disparities – National Quality Forum
• Health equity snapshot: Toolkit for action and Resource series - AHA
• Equity of care: A toolkit for eliminating health care disparities compendium -AHA
• Roadmap to advance health equity – Advancing Health Equity
• Health equity - National Rural Health Resource Center

Publications and reports

AHRQ’s National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports and Chartbooks provide the latest available findings on the quality of and access to healthcare, including disparities related to race and ethnicity, income and social determinants of health.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Health equity and health disparities environmental scan explores how health equity and health disparities are defined and communicated within the field of public health.

Data collection and use

REaL data

• Improving health equity: Build infrastructure to support health equity and Assessment tool - IHI
• Why collect race, ethnicity and primary language - IFDHE
• Inventory of resources for standardized demographic and language data collection - CMS

Sexual orientation and gender identity data

• Collecting SOGI data learning resources - National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center
• The nuts and bolts of SOGI data implementation troubleshooting guide - The Fenway Institute

Social determinants of health and screening for social needs

• Screening for social needs: Guiding care teams to engage patients and SDOH health guides - AHA
• Health-related social needs screening tool and Guide – CMS
• SDOH in rural communities toolkit - RHIhub
• Improving the collection of SDOH data with ICD-10-CM Z codes – CMS
• Coding guidance - AHA

Cultural competence

• Becoming a culturally competent health care organization toolkit and Assessment tool - AHA
• National CLAS Standards and Implementation checklist – HHS
• Tools to promote culturally and linguistically appropriate services - AHRQ

Language and literacy

• Health literacy basics and Creating a health literacy plan – CDC
• Providing language services to diverse populations and Developing a language access plan - CMS

Community partnerships

• Creating effective hospital-community partnerships to build a culture of health - HRET/AHA
• Building coalitions to promote health equity: A toolkit for action – Campaign for Action/RWJF
• A practitioner’s guide for advancing health equity: Community strategies for preventing chronic disease – CDC
• Building community partnerships to sustain health equity programs - RHIhub