Disparities

Stratis Health has a long record of success in reducing health disparities among communities of color and underserved populations. Our disparities reduction efforts include projects with specific populations and targeted clinical conditions, improving health literacy throughout the community, and increasing the cultural competency and effectiveness of health care providers serving culturally diverse populations.

Reducing clinical disparities

We led a quality improvement project focused on reducing the disparities in diabetes care for African Americans in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Multiple interventions were developed and implemented.

• Conducted academic detailing with targeted physicians and clinics serving significant African American populations, by having a respected African American physician provide unbiased medical information
• Mailed educational materials to physicians at clinics serving African American patients
• Facilitated community learning sessions for African American health care consumers focused on diet, exercise, emotional wellness, and community outreach
• Promoted awareness through media, fairs and festivals, and conference participation and presentations
• Results: Decrease in the disparity in lipid testing for diabetes between African American and Caucasian Medicare consumers from 25.0% to 21.2% in Hennepin County and from 30.0% to 22.8% in Ramsey County.

Understanding barriers to access

We partnered with the University of Minnesota and a variety of local community-based organizations to develop and implement focus groups and an extensive statewide survey among African American, American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Hmong, and Somali enrolled in state public programs, to better understand their barriers to access and services under the Minnesota Prepaid Medical Assistance Program.

Improving cultural competency

Minnesota’s multicultural population is projected to increase. Between 2005 and 2010, about 38 percent of the state's population growth will occur among nonwhites. In 2000, nine percent of the population identified themselves as nonwhite-by 2030 this is projected to increase to 16 percent. As Minnesota's population becomes more diverse, health care providers are seeing a patient population that may not speak English, may not be familiar with Western medical customs, and may be distrustful of how health care is delivered in the United States.

Culture Care Connection. This online learning and resource center, developed by Stratis Health, supports health care providers, staff, and administrators in their ongoing efforts to provide culturally competent care in Minnesota. The site provides information on cultural competence concepts, health topics, ethnicities, stakeholder organizations and resources that are most reflective of the needs of Minnesota’s diverse populations as well as the health care organizations that serve them. (UCare grant 2008-2010)

It provides actionable, evidence-based tools to assist organizations for achieving their goals in relation to cultural competence. Key features include:

• Profiles of each Minnesota county with key demographic, socioeconomic, and health status data so health care practitioners can learn more about the characteristics of the communities they serve.
• A free, online CLAS Assessment, to assess how well health care organizations meet national cultural and linguistic standards.
• Fact sheets to help health care providers learn more about the background, religious and cultural beliefs, and common health issues of the predominant minority populations in Minnesota, including African American, American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Hmong, Russian, and Somali.

We've worked with 23 adult primary care clinics across Minnesota—both urban and rural—to help them become more culturally competent.

• Assessed how well they were addressing the 14 national Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services standards—baseline and remeasurement
• Conducted training for their physicians, nurses, and office staff
• Customized demographic information for their community/ region regarding the changing nature of the populations they are and will be serving
• Provided ongoing communication and technical assistance

Results: Statistically significant performance improvement on all 14 CLAS standards, between baseline and re-measurement, by the 23 participating clinics.

We are currently providing technical assistance to another group of adult primary care clinics to help them enhance their cultural competence. In addition, we are developing an online cultural competency resource and learning center to help clinicians better communicate with and relate to a diversity of patients.

Stratis Health produced a DVD series intended to help providers build their skills and capacity to provide culturally-appropriate care to three major growing populations in Minnesota: Hispanic/Latino, Hmong, and Somali.

Health literacy

Establishing the Minnesota Health Literacy Partnership. Stratis Health was among the founding organizations of the state’s health literacy coalition, established in 2005. We continue in a leadership capacity through serving on the steering committee and providing start-up funds through our Building Healthier Communities award program.

Developing low literacy patient education materials. We provided a matching grant to the Minnesota Diabetes Collaborative to develop and disseminate “Control Your Diabetes for Life”—low literacy patient education materials that promote consistent patient education diabetes messages across settings aimed at people with limited language skills and those who prefer visual instruction aids.

Reducing health disparities An overview of Stratis Health’s work (2-page PDF)

Contact Stratis Health for assistance with your quality improvement and patient safety needs.

If your organization has projects it would like to work on, contact us to discuss how we can work together to support initiatives related to reducing disparities.