The Montgomery County Hospital Care Equity Initiative recently partnered with the Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc. (SHIRE) to develop a community engagement report examining several issues related to race/ethnicity data collection and disparities reporting among area hospitals and community organizations. A final report - available in mid-October - will serve as a tool to Montgomery County hospitals and the surrounding community striving to develop effective interventions for health and health care disparities.

The report - based on in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders across the country - focuses on four main areas of concern:

• Views of health care disparities, as well as causes of disparities and actions taken to eliminate such differences
• Race/ethnicity data collection, reporting and use
• Best practices for collecting race/ethnicity data, as well as staff training and information technology implementation challenges
• Views on how to best utilize the hospital care equity report findings

Preliminary findings indicate that there is widespread agreement on the need to improve cultural competency in health care, as well as to explore and address the influence of social determinants of health and health care disparities. Consensus among hospital and community representatives suggests that fostering partnerships to address disparities will be an important strategy moving forward.

The final report will provide a complete analysis of the interview findings and will offer recommendations for achieving equitable care delivery. Additionally, the report will detail the potential impact of the hospital care equity report activities underway to improve health care equity, including how hospitals and community-based health care organizations might collaborate more effectively.