SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-The Initiation of an Advocacy-Focused Curriculum for Understanding and Addressing Disparities

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Stanford Internal Medicine launched “Equity in Healthcare,” a 2-week non-clinical advocacy-focused curriculum through the Stanford IM HEARs program to address major health disparities affecting vulnerable and underserved communities. The course was created in response to the inequities exposed during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and to fill a recognized gap in Internal Medicine residents’ exposure to social determinants of health, health advocacy, and care for marginalized populations.<br /><br />The curriculum aimed to strengthen residents’ knowledge, confidence, and practical skills in understanding and responding to disparities in care. It also emphasized value-based healthcare delivery and how social, economic, and environmental factors shape patient outcomes. Key learning goals included identifying how social determinants affect quality of care, recognizing challenges faced by incarcerated patients, locating resources for people experiencing housing insecurity, incorporating social risk into inpatient medical plans, and learning formal advocacy skills.<br /><br />Initial feedback was very positive. In a survey of 15 participants, residents reported improved understanding of health disparities, greater confidence in caring for underserved patients, and increased interest in serving these populations. Quantitative survey results showed statistically significant improvements across learning objectives. Participant comments highlighted the course’s relevance, describing it as impactful, inspiring, and valuable for becoming more effective, empathetic clinicians, advocates, and researchers.<br /><br />Overall, the program was successful in bridging clinical training with real-world health equity issues. The authors conclude that this model can help prepare future clinicians to better understand and advocate for patients facing complex health challenges, and it may be scalable to larger groups of learners and other healthcare settings.

Asset Subtitle

Christine Santiago

Meta Tag

Author List Christine Santiago, Emily Woods, Nancy F. Liu, Natasha Steele

Category Innovations

Concept Social Determinants of Health

Concept Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities

Concept Incarcerated Patients

Concept Patient Social Risk Factors

Concept Health Inequity

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University

Presenting Author Christine Santiago

Track Education

Keywords

health equity

health disparities

internal medicine

resident education

social determinants of health

health advocacy

underserved communities

vulnerable populations

value-based healthcare

pandemic response

Social Determinants of Health

Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities

Incarcerated Patients

Patient Social Risk Factors

Health Inequity