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• The Unfinished Civil Rights Agenda

March 9, 2005 The March/April issue of Health Affairs, out today, focuses on what one contributor calls "the unfinished civil rights agenda"—persistent racial and ethnic health disparities in access to and quality of health care. The issue includes two articles by Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers: • Creating a State Minority Health Policy Report Card, by Amal L. Trivedi, M.D., a fellow in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues, issues the first-ever "report card" on states' performances in addressing minority health care disparities. Looking at all 50 states, the report card evaluates insurance coverage rates, proportion of minority physicians, presence or absence of a minority health office, and mortality data for various populations. The study found that "high- and low-performing states tended to cluster geographically." Indeed, location was the only factor that consistently correlated with performance. • Cultural Competence and Health Care Disparities: Key Perspectives and Trends, by Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D., senior scientist and program director for mult! icultural education at the Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital , and colleagues, presents findings from a 2002 survey of experts in cultural competence from managed care, government, and academia. The study then compares these findings to recent trends in policy, practice, and education, finding that many stakeholders have been developing cultural competency programs, though their motivations for doing so and approaches taken vary. The complete reports are posted on www.uabmhrc.com > RESOURCES > publications

For more information: Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center info@uabmhrc.com