Dive Brief:
- The new National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities program will include collaborations with several NIH institutions and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- The program extends efforts by the American College of Surgeons, which launched a national research agenda to address surgical disparities last May and included five main priorities for research.
- These priorities range from improving patient-clinician communication, fostering community outreach via technology to optimize patient education, and improving care at facilities with a higher percentage of minority surgical and trauma patients, amongst others.
Dive Insight:
Dr. Eliseo J. Perez-STable, NIMHD director, said, "Racial and ethnic minority and low-income population groups are often times disproportionately affected by access, availability, and affordability to the most advanced healthcare services." Health disparities can include higher rates of chronic conditions, greater comorbidity and greater risk of premature death, poorer quality of life, worse functioning and prolonged recovery from disease, according to an NIH press release.
A 2010 study in the Annals of Surgery found an increase in surgical mortality rates among lower socioeconomic status patients - independent of race, age, access to care, hospital facility or insurance status.
There are an estimated 51 million inpatient and 53 million outpatient surgical cases performed in the U.S. annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Perez-Stable added it was important to better understand the role of optimal access to safe surgical care and medical management, which has not been well studied in health disparities research.