November is National
Veterans and Military Families Month as you already know. The VA Office of Health Equity continues to promote how we honor Veterans and their
families by joining forces to advance health equity. This announcement
highlights upcoming activities that we are proud to share and engage with you.
Health equity related partnered evaluation activities are
instrumental in increasing understanding of the distribution of diagnosed
health conditions, mortality, and healthcare quality for vulnerable Veteran
groups. The current Focus
on Health Equity and Action Cyberseminar will provide updated data on
equity and quality of care issues for Veterans in the VA healthcare system and
findings related to top VA priorities. In addition, presenters will discuss
activities and tactics that can be implemented to ensure all Veterans fairly
receive the best quality of care irrespective of vulnerabilities and other
determinants of care that negatively affect Veteran health and well-being.
Advancing
Health Equity Through Partnered Evaluation and Action
Thursday,
November 16, 2017
3:00 –
4:00 PM EST
Learning
Objectives
-
Increase
awareness of patterns of disparities in care quality, patient experiences, and
outcomes among VA patients;
-
Understand
differences across populations in rates of medical conditions; and
- Identify
actions that can be taken to advance health equity for vulnerable Veterans.
Confirmed
Speakers
-
Susan Frayne, MD,
MPH
VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
-
Katherine Hoggatt,
PhD
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
-
Uchenna S.
Uchendu, MD
Chief Officer, Office of Health Equity, VA Central Office, Washington, DC
Background
Resources
Office of Health Equity. (2016). National
Veteran Health Equity Report—FY2013. US Department of Veterans Affairs,
Washington, DC. Available online at http://www.va.gov/healthequity/NVHER.asp.
Related
Cyberseminars
-
Chronic
Health Conditions Among Vulnerable Veterans: Current Research and Action – June 29, 2017 (Breland, Uchendu, Washington)
-
Using
VA Data to Characterize Health and Healthcare Disparities in VA – June 20, 2017 (Washington)
-
State
of VHA Care for Vulnerable Veterans –
January 26, 2017 (Frayne, Otoole, Saechao, Saliba, Uchendu, Washington, Yano)
Recently, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) called on “artists
of all kinds” to illustrate what health equity means for them for possible
inclusion in their Visualize
Health Equity Project. We are proud to share the great news that
OHE’s Veteran-centric design and the associated blog by the VA Chief Health Equity
Officer Uchenna S. Uchendu, MD was selected for the NAM Visualize Health Equity
Permanent Online Gallery. Having the Veteran-focused content included in the Gallery
is one way to promote Veteran health equity issues and to ensure that Veteran
concerns are a part of ongoing equity discussions and national initiatives.
The Applying
an Equity Lens design was developed by OHE and inspired by Hepatitis
C Virus treatment discussions at the VA to inform appropriate allocation of
resources and other actions necessary for addressing disparities among
Veterans. While the design has Veterans at the center as the community of
focus, the concept is applicable to other arenas. Unique to the design is the notion
that everyone gets a boost irrespective of their starting place. However, those
impacted by disparities get additional support to eliminate health and
healthcare gaps. As Dr. Uchendu explains it, “This approach represents an
attempt to alleviate barriers and resentment that often impede progress towards
equity when there is a perception of taking away from one to give to another.”
The Applying
an Equity Lens design can be accessed at the link below. Also, the
design and a related blog post can be accessed on the tools page of the OHE website. The Visualize Health Equity
Project is a part of the NAM’s Culture of Health Program,
sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Many Veterans participate in clinical trials to continue their service and commitment to fellow Servicemembers and the country. Diversity in clinical trials is vital in ensuring that medical products and devices are safe and effective for everyone. The VA
Office of Health Equity (OHE) and FDA
Office of Minority Health (OMH) are joining forces in time for National
Veterans and Military Families Month with related programming
for Veterans, their families, and stakeholders.
The FDA OMH will host a free
one hour webinar featuring VA OHE Chief Officer Uchenna S. Uchendu, MD. Join Dr.
Uchendu as she discusses the importance of Veteran health equity and diversity
in clinical trials. Register now and stay tuned for additional activities for engaging Veterans in clinical trials.
Continuing education credits available for physicians,
nurses, and pharmacists.
Health
Equity and Diversity in Clinical Trials
Monday,
November 20, 2017
2:00 –
3:00 PM EST
The VA
Office of Health Equity (OHE) launched the VA Health Equity
Themed Quality Improvement Projects Initiative during fiscal year 2014. This
initiative was launched to support local and field-based efforts to implement
quality improvement efforts that have been designed or identified through
existing literature and that are expected to achieve health equity and/or
reduce health disparities among vulnerable Veteran groups. The purpose of the
current session is to describe quality improvement projects and findings for
projects funded by OHE during fiscal year 2017 and discuss lessons learned and
actionable steps that can be used by VA facilities, researchers, and
stakeholders to inform local and national efforts that advance health equity
for vulnerable Veterans.
Using
Quality Improvement Projects to Demonstrate Health Equity in Action for
Vulnerable Veterans
Thursday,
December 18, 2017
3:00
– 4:00 PM EST
Learning
Objectives
-
Identify
quality improvement strategies and other actions that can be used to advance health
equity;
-
Understand
disparities in hysterectomy care in VA and how individual and system level
determinants may contribute to disparities;
-
Recognize
differences in patient experience with surgical processes and outcomes; and
- Describe
VISN-wide implementation of the MOVE! program as a quality improvement strategy
to narrow the equity gap among Hispanic/Latino and Non-Hispanic/Latino Veterans
with respect to uncontrolled HbA1c.
Confirmed
Speakers
-
Wendell Jones, MD
Chief Medical Officer, VISN 17 Central Texas, Dallas, Texas
-
Jodie Katon, PhD
Scientist, VA Health Services Research and
Development, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington
-
Sara Knight, PhD
Director, Health Services Research Program, Birmingham VA Medical Center,
Birmingham, Alabama
-
Uchenna S. Uchendu, MD
Chief Officer, Office of Health Equity, VA Central Office, Washington, DC
Once
again the VA Office of Health Equity
salutes every Veteran and military family and we invite you to join us for activities highlighted on
our announcements as we celebrate your service and sacrifices during this month
of November.
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