Monday, September 16, 2024
9/16/2024
Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Hispanic adults in the United States (U.S.) are more likely to be unemployed, work low paying jobs, be uninsured, and have lower educational attainment than non-Hispanic White (NHW). These factors are consistently linked with poor cardiovascular health and underlying major disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) by race and ethnicity. NHB adults have a higher burden of CVD risk factors, such as hypertension and are more than twice as likely to die of CVD than NHW adults. Over the last decade, Hispanic adults experienced a slower decline in stroke mortality and greater rise in heart failure mortality rate than NHW adults. The prevalence of high cholesterol in NHB is comparable to or lower than in NHW, racial-ethnic disparities occur at diagnosis and management. There is a demand for equity-focused health system interventions to mitigate these disparities in hypertension and hypercholesteremia awareness, treatment, and outcomes. Geisinger serves a rural and increasingly diverse patient population that has varied access to health care resources depending on location and distance from health care centers. Hispanic and NHB populations are growing within the Geisinger service area and are at significant risk of CVD due to social risk factors that disproportionately impact these communities especially considering their rural nature. In this initiative, we will focus on narrowing the care gap for adult patients that identify as Hispanic and/or NHB within the Geisinger service area, targeting census tracts with a crude prevalence of 53% hypertension and implement programs to help them receive equitable healthcare. The overall approach of this project is to improve the health and health care access for those with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia in underserved populations within the Geisinger service area. We will develop an approach that uses geographic information system (GIS) technology and electronic health record data to identify individuals where populations with high prevalence of these two conditions reside. Once identified, we will work to develop a learning collaborative with community partners that already provide services in the target areas to develop and implement a plan to improve health and health care access. We will then deploy these resources to improve hypertension and hypercholesterolemia control in these approved populations of focus. The following strategies will be implemented in Geisinger service area: Strategy 1. Track and monitor clinical measures shown to improve health and wellness, health care quality, and identify patients with hypertension and high cholesterol, Strategy 2. Implement team-based care to prevent and reduce CVD risk with a focus on hypertension and high cholesterol prevention, detection, control, and management, and Strategy 3. Link community resources and clinical services that support comprehensive bidirectional referral and follow-up systems aimed at mitigating social support barriers for optimal health outcomes. With guidance from the learning collaborative, a multidisciplinary team of clinicians; experts in diversity, equity, and inclusion; implementation scientists; and data scientists will develop and execute a plan to evaluate the implementation and impact of these strategies.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
