Health Equity Guide for Public Health Practitioners and Partners

Publication Year: 2015
Patient Need Addressed: Care Coordination/Management, Patient satisfaction/engagement
Type of Literature: Grey
Abstract

N/A

Insights Results

Overview of article

  • Delaware was awarded funding from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) State Innovation Model (SIM) initiative to test a plan for transforming the State’s healthcare system in ways that improve quality and reduce costs
  • The Delaware SIM Plan is organized around 6 work-streams— delivery system, population health, payment model, data and analytics, workforce, and policy— that contribute to achieving the Triple Aim of improving the health of Delawareans, improving the patient experience of care, and reducing healthcare costs

Results

  • Delaware’s Healthy Neighborhood program will provide resources for individual communities to identify and address community-specific health needs through targeted interventions. The program’s intent is to integrate public health and healthcare delivery on the local level, match existing community assets and resources with community-defined needs, and prioritize investments accordingly

Key takeaways/implications

  • Combined, increased focus on the social determinants of health and shifting toward more prevention-oriented and integrated systems of care create an important window of opportunity to advance health equity. Delaware appears poised to create a more effective, inclusive, and comprehensive health system that better addresses the entire continuum of health determinants, from the upstream social conditions to the downstream delivery of care
  • The National Partnership for Action’s National Stakeholder Strategy (2011) specifically calls for greater investments in community-based participatory research, which is research that involves community engagement throughout the entire research process, and evaluates community oriented intervention strategies. Similarly, to promote health equity across the continuum of health-related services, the National Stakeholder Strategy recommends increased support for and improved coordination of research that enhances our understanding of strategies