In this episode of BackTable ENT, Dr. Gopi Shah, Dr. Romaine Johnson (UT Southwestern), and Dr. Alex Chiu (University of Kansas) discuss health disparities research and the Health Equity Collaborative.

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SHOW NOTES

First, Dr. Chiu explains the difference between equality and equity. Equality is giving everyone the same resources to reach a goal, while equity is giving people different resources based on their different background and obstacles to reach a goal. Health equity emphasizes the importance of the provider focusing on interpersonal relationships and caregivers of patients, not just on their patients as individuals. Dr. Johnson explains that although there are many research studies that prove the existence of inequalities, there are not enough research studies centered on how specific interventions can reduce disparities.

Then, Dr. Chiu explains the Health Equity Collaborative, an initiative to drive more health equity research in the field of ENT across different institutions. The collaborative was started in February 2022 in Kansas City. Dr. Chiu and his team quickly realized that they did not have the adequate volume of patients needed to achieve a sizable impact, so they reached out to more ENT researchers in different cities. The collaborative uses qualitative research methods, such as the qualitative structured interview, and then formulates objective metrics to analyze the results. Future goals of the collaborative include gaining the support of societies and using their evidence to change policies and advocate for minority patients. Dr. Chiu also explains obstacles he had to overcome when forming the collaborative and the benefit of working with a diverse team.

Finally, Dr. Chiu shares how his disparity research has affected his medical practice by making him a more patient physician. He listens closer to his patients to try and understand his patients’ decisions and non-compliance before judging them. He is also inspired by research initiatives from other medical specialties.