An initial step to address health disparities within a population is to:

The foundational step in any systematic effort to address health disparities is to first understand where they exist and to what extent. Expanding the collection and standardization of data, such as race, ethnicity, and language (REAL), allows an organization to stratify its performance metrics. This data-driven approach is essential for identifying specific populations that are experiencing poorer outcomes, which is a prerequisite for designing targeted, effective interventions. Without this data, efforts to improve equity would be based on assumptions rather than evidence.

B. Creating dashboards is a subsequent step that requires data to have already been collected and analyzed.

C. This is a potential intervention, but it should be targeted based on data analysis, not applied broadly as an initial step.

D. Community engagement is vital, but it is most effective when informed by data that identifies the specific disparities to be discussed.

1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2021). 2021 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report. (AHRQ Pub. No. 21(22)-0054). Section 1

"Introduction and Methods

" emphasizes the importance of data collection for monitoring disparities.

2. Teisberg

E.

Wallace

S.

& O'Hara

S. (2020). Defining and Measuring Health and Health Care Costs: A New Framework. In The New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst. The article underscores the necessity of comprehensive data collection to measure outcomes for specific patient segments. (DOI: 10.1056/CAT.20.0023)

3. Ransom

S. B.

Joshi

M. S.

& Nash

D. B. (Eds.). (2019). The Healthcare Quality Book: Vision

Strategy

and Tools (4th ed.). Health Administration Press. Chapter 5

"Measuring Quality

" discusses the need for data stratification to identify disparities.