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PEACH to hold WIP session on June 16
Putting the spotlight on pediatric health equity
We in the healthcare system want to provide the best possible care to all children, and yet we know there is variation in the quality of that care. Children who differ in some characteristics may enter the hospital or doctor’s office and be responded to differently due to one or more of those characteristics. In other words, these children may experience a health inequity.
Considerable research demonstrates health inequities in the way adult patients are provided care across multiple domains (e.g., different assessment of chest pain for men and women). However, we know very little about health inequities in the care of children and, critically, about the interventions that should be in place to address those that exist.
Approaching equity through systems-level thinking
It is important to note that we do not believe differences in care occur because of any evil intent on the part of providers or staff. At PEACH, our goal is to focus on systems rather than individuals and implement protocols and structural changes to achieve quality care for all children.
A similar approach is taken when addressing safety in clinical care. Rather than blaming individuals, healthcare systems accept that humans are fallible, so transparent measurement is encouraged and process improvement is the norm. For example, to reduce preventable infections by improving hand hygiene, in addition to education, protocols are used (e.g., hand-sanitizer dispensers are placed at each patient door) to make it easy to do the best thing for patient care. Drawing on the successes of this approach, we apply these same key principles to improve pediatric health equity.
Improving the quality of care for all children through PEACH
PEACH is an innovative research and improvement program committed to excellence in health care and experience for all kids. To carry out our work, PEACH functions as a hub of resources available to those in partnering units who have a question about pediatric health equity. Faculty and staff propose ideas that they will take the lead in researching and addressing; PEACH provides support to help faculty and staff explore ideas, translate feasible ideas into research, and implement quality improvement programs to address any health inequities identified through research.
PEACH is composed of physicians, researchers, statisticians, quality improvement specialists, and other experts who together provide faculty and staff a core platform of expertise, consultation, and support, including:
Consultations on potential health inequities that fall within the scope of PEACH
Research design and methodological mentorship
Help developing and testing new methods to study health inequity
Assistance with patient, community, and stakeholder engagement
Various supports over the life course of a project (e.g., data collection and statistical analysis supports)
Quality improvement assistance in developing and implementing solutions
Support in disseminating findings to advance research and improve pediatric care
At PEACH, we want to ensure those who share our commitment to quality pediatric care have the resources needed to ask questions, collect data, and generate meaningful change.
Impact
While our work starts at Michigan Medicine, we hypothesize that differences in pediatric care are present in other health systems across the state and the country. Thus, findings from our projects will be disseminated to inform local, state, and national decision makers to provide actionable steps to identify and address health inequities. Ultimately, our goal is quality care for all children.
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