Incorporating Community Member Perspectives to Inform a Resident Health Equity Curriculum.

Background There are few published resources to guide content of health disparities curricula. To train physicians to effectively address disparities, the needs and expectations of the local community need to be considered. Objective To obtain community insight about factors influencing health disparities and important components of a health disparities curriculum for residents. Methods This qualitative study consisted of 5 focus groups held in 2019; 4 included local community members, and the fifth was of leaders from local agencies serving these communities. Each focus group was professionally led and transcribed. Using an inductive approach to content analysis, the authors created codes from the transcripts. They then categorized the codes to support the development of themes. Results Sixty-five community members participated in the 4 focus groups, and 10 community leaders participated in the fifth. Overall, 6 themes emerged from the data: (1) A healthy community is a community with access; (2) system-inflicted stress weighs heavily on health; (3) communities have internal strengths; (4) racism affects care delivery; (5) respectful bedside manner is necessary to build trust and better health outcomes; and (6) experience the community to learn and appreciate strengths and needs. Conclusions This study illustrates that the community's input provides insights on what to include in a health disparities curriculum and serves as a model for incorporation of the community perspective in curriculum development.

Teaching the Teachers: Development and Evaluation of a Racial Health Equity Curriculum for Faculty.

Introduction: Faculty are increasingly expected to teach about the impact of racism on health and to model the principles of health equity. However, they often feel ill-equipped to do so, and there is limited literature on faculty development on these topics. We developed a curriculum for faculty education on racism and actions to advance racial health equity. Methods: The curriculum design was based on a literature review and needs assessments. Implementation consisted of four live virtual 1-hour sessions incorporating interactive didactics, cases, reflection, goal setting, and discussion offered to a multidisciplinary group of pediatric faculty at a children's hospital. Topics included the history of racism, racism in health care, interacting with trainees and colleagues, and racial equity in policy. Evaluation consisted of pre- and postsurveys at the beginning and end of the curriculum and a survey after each session. Results: A mean of 78 faculty members attended each session (range: 66-94). Participants reported high satisfaction and increased knowledge at the end of each session. Qualitative themes included self-reflection on personal biases, application of health equity frameworks and tools, becoming disruptors of racism, and the importance of systemic change and policy. Discussion: This curriculum is an effective method for increasing faculty knowledge and comfort. The materials can be adapted for various audiences.

Using a Community Bus Tour for Pediatric Residents to Increase Their Knowledge of Health Disparities.

A community bus tour with a focus on social determinants of health created through a partnership between the pediatric residency program and the hospital's Child Health Advocacy Institute was shown to increase knowledge of health disparities among pediatric interns.