Evaluating Interventions To Reduce Health Care Disparities: An RWJF Program

Abstract

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change program funds evaluation of interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease, depression, and diabetes. Of the 177 applications received in 2006, the most prevalent proposed interventions were patient or provider education (57 percent), community health workers (25 percent), case management (24 percent), integrated health care (24 percent), and cultural modification (24 percent). Policy interventions, including pay-for-performance (P4P) incentives, were lacking. The eleven grantees target patients, providers, patient-provider communication, health care organizations, and communities in innovative ways. We identify important future research questions.

Improved Survival in Heart Transplant Recipients in the United States

“…24 These preliminary reports suggest that approaches that combine current immune suppression agents with quality control initiatives and with interventions to reduce disparities may help bridge survival differences between racial groups despite their underlying immunologic and metabolic differences and may improve overall post-transplant survival. 25 For example, enhanced patient education with respect to their medical management and symptoms of rejection in those with limited formal schooling, and improved support system for patients with socioeconomic challenges that allows easy access to transplant team members may help improve longer-term outcomes in minorities.…”

Community Health Worker Intervention to Decrease Cervical Cancer Disparities in Hispanic Women

“…Two recent reports summarize disparities between Hispanics and whites with respect to disease-specific outcomes, healthcare quality, and access to medical services and treatments 3,4 . The persistence of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care necessitates novel strategies for reducing, and ultimately eliminating them 5 .…”

Overview and rationale for the Systematic Screening and Assessment Method

“…The school improvement literature offers examples (Teddie & Stringfield, 2007), as does the CDC SWAT initiative to be described here (Dunet et al, 2008;Hersey et al, 2008). RWJF has sometimes sought real-world practices for a test; for example, the Finding Answers national program solicits interventions on cardiac care for minority populations that then undergo evaluation and dissemination of those found to be effective (Schlotthauer et al, 2008).…”