127 - Seattle Health Equity Rounds: Joining Disciplines to Develop an Inclusive Hospital-wide Conference Addressing Equity, Bias, and Racism

Poster Number: 127
Publication Number: 127.216

Anthony L. Bui, University of Washington / Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; Melissa Martos, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Austin DeChalus, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Georgia M. Griffin, University of Washington / Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; Julia C. Hadley, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States; Emily Kemper, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Samantha Kunze Garcia, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Gabriel Mendoza, University of Washington School of Medicine/Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; Chinenyenwa Mpamaugo, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Dennis H. Pang, Seattle Children's, SEATTLE, WA, United States; Sruti Pisharody, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States; Francesca Ross, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Kelly Shontell, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Courtney A. Gilliam, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States; Tracy Seimears, Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA, United States

Background: In 2020 we established Seattle Health Equity Rounds (HER), an interdisciplinary, hospital-wide, case-based conference series to address health inequity, bias, and racism in medicine.

Objective: Our goal was to join disciplines (physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, and the larger hospital workforce) to build community, effect change, and advance dialogue about how race and equity affect our patients, their care, and the way we work with one another.

Design/Methods: We recruited 6 interdisciplinary teams who researched and presented on topics inspired by patient cases, including indigenous family separation, bias towards parents with substance use disorders, safety and policing in the hospital, inequities in language access, climate justice, and perspectives of Black women in medicine. Team structures across all sessions included 3-6 disciplines (administration, care coordination, nursing, pharmacy, physicians, and social work). Each session included bias reduction techniques (e.g., perspective taking), review of historical context, case engagement, and empowerment towards actions with active engagement through the virtual conference platform. We obtained post-conference surveys of participants.

Results: Approximately 1000 individuals attended the first 5 conferences in 2020-2021. Of the 340 participants (34%) who completed post-conference surveys, 131 (39%) were physicians; 87 (26%) direct clinical staff excluding physicians (e.g., nurses, pharmacists, etc.); 41 (12%) social work and patient/family support; 69 (20%) administrators; and 12 (4%) students. Each session received feedback from 14-30 unique self-identified roles in the hospital. Participants rated an average of 4.8 of 5 on a Likert scale for overall value; 98% reported interest in attending a subsequent HER conference, and 90% reported the session would change their practice. Descriptive evaluations indicated reflections on personal biases and recognition of personal resolve and eagerness to engage with equity on an interdisciplinary, institution-wide scale. Post-session hospital engagement led to policy review and implementation.Conclusion(s): Racism and discrimination persist in healthcare and impact the lives of minoritized individuals. Seattle HER has facilitated discussion, community-building, and engagement with our interdisciplinary hospital workforce, allowing for reflection of racism or bias that exist and identification of interventions to advance equity. Participants felt sessions were valuable and meaningful. HER directly led to discussions to alter hospital workplace practices.
Anthony Bui - CVBui_Anthony_CV_2022-01-04.pdf
Table 1. Unique Hospital Roles across Role Categories among Survey Participants of Seattle Health Equity Rounds