Advocacy: You can make a Difference

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Advocacy You can make a Difference

• Access / Quality
• Fredette West, Director
• African American Health Alliance

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Institute of Medicine 2002 StudyUnequal
Treatment Confronting Racial and Ethnic
Disparities in Healthcare

• Findings
• Racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a
  lower quality of healthcare than non-minorities,
  even when access-related factors, such as
  patients' insurance status and income are
  controlled. The sources of these disparities are
  complex, and are rooted in historic and
  contemporary inequities, and involve many
  participants at several levels, including
• health systems,
• their administrative and bureaucratic processes,
• utilization managers,
• healthcare professionals, and
• patients.
• The committee finished its work convinced that
  the real challenge lies not in debating whether
  disparities exist, but in developing and
  implementing strategies to reduce and eliminate
  them. Alan R. Nelson, M.D., Chair, Committee
  on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and
  Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, 2002
• Source IOM Unequal Treatment Study Abstract

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Access / Quality

• You Must Advocate for Access and Quality
• Advocacy EducatingEngagingEnergizing
• Patients/Consumers/Communities
• Opinion Leaders
• Health Systems/Plans
• Healthcare Providers and Administrators
• ___________
• African American Health Alliance