Racial Equity in Healthcare

Course Title: Racial Equity in Healthcare

Location: Online Course with Live Virtual Seminar

Course Description:

The emphasis of this course will be on understanding the relationship between racism and health disparities in the United States and how we can play an active role in narrowing the health disparity gap. The first part of the course will involve required readings to educate the participant on health disparities, implicit bias, the (African-American) patient perspective, and osteoarthritis (OA) specific disparities to develop baseline competence on the issue of race and healthcare. Readings will be followed by a required quiz to gauge the clinician’s understanding and retention of the material. The live seminar will include a review of our nation’s history of racism within healthcare, a deeper dive into implicit bias in healthcare professionals, discussion on representation of black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) individuals in PT, a review of health disparities, and education on how to reduce bias and improve outcomes. The live seminar will be heavily based on an open and honest discussion regarding race, racism, and how to navigate difficult situations and discussions within our personal and professional circles.

Objectives:

At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

• Describe racial health disparities in America across multiple health conditions
• Understand racism in healthcare throughout U.S. history contributes to the current state of health disparities
• Identify the difference in Implicit Vs. Explicit Bias, its presence in healthcare, and how it affects outcomes
• Describe how disparities in access to healthcare contributes to disparities in health outcomes
• Recognize specific disparities resulting in decreased access and utility of rehab services for BIPOC diagnosed with OA
• Recognize the gap in representation in PT and health professions and how that affects health outcome
• Understand the clinician’s role in narrowing racial health disparities and develop ideas of how they will make a change in their community

Course Schedule:

Independent Online Material

- 1.5 hours of required reading material

- 15 question quiz over the reading material

     - 2 attempts

     - 12/15 to pass course

     - If participants fail to pass the quiz, comprehension of the material will be assessed during the discussion portion of the course.

Virtual Seminar (2.5 Hours)

8:00 - 8:30 am

- Introduction of course, objectives, and course instructor

- Brief discussion about relevant definitions and understanding of racism

8:30 – 9:30 am

- Review of the history of racism in healthcare

- Lecture and discussion of:

     - bias within healthcare

     - patient perspective

- Access, affordability, and healthcare utilization

- Representation in Physical Therapy

- Racial Health Disparities

9:30 – 10:30 am

- Lecture and discussion on how we decrease bias, improve health outcomes, and handle difficult situations regarding race and racism

- Open forum discussion on any questions the participants may have

Instructor:

Dr. Patrick Ford, PT, DPT, OCS is a Physical Therapist working as the Lead Physical Therapist at an outpatient, sports-based, clinic for Kinetic Edge Physical Therapy in Waukee, IA. He co-founded and is the acting President of Project Onyx, a non-profit with the goal of eliminating the barriers that BIPOC individuals face in regards to their health and fitness. His credentials include being a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist from the ABPTS. Dr. Ford recently received the ICE Opportunity Scholarship which is given to a minority(s) Physical Therapists to provide them access to continuing education resources as well as improve representation of people of color within outpatient PT education.