Emergency Departments (EDs) have the potential to mitigate health inequities people with complex health conditions, according to a new study protocol published in the BMC Health Services Research Journal. The EQUIP study will examine the impacts of an organizational-level health equity intervention in emergency departments.
This project will help ED care providers improve the equity of care in emergency departments, particularly for groups known to be at risk for experiencing the negative impacts of health care inequities. These groups include Indigenous people, racialized newcomers, people with mental illnesses, those living in unstable housing or facing homelessness, experiencing interpersonal violence or using substances, and people involved in sex work. Practices of discrimination in the ED contribute to misdiagnoses, under-treatment and errors, deter timely care, and increase conflict.
The main study outcome is a health equity-enhancing framework, including implementable, measurable interventions, tested, refined and relevant to diverse EDs. Three BC ED’s will be taking part in the study: St. Paul’s Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, and the University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC). Members Kathleen Cunniffe and Patrick Rowe are ED leads for the UHNBC site team.
View the study summary and learn more at www.equiphealthcare.ca.