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Showing results for tags 'Health Disparities'.
Found 793 results
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Content ArticleLanguage barriers, reduced self-advocacy, lower health literacy and biased care may hinder the diagnostic process. This US study in BMJ Quality & Safety looks at patient-reported diagnostic errors, what contributes to them and the impact they have, and examines the differences between respondents with limited English-language health literacy or disadvantaged socioeconomic position, and their counterparts. The authors conclude that: interpreter access should be viewed as a diagnostic safety imperative. social determinants affecting care access and affordability should be routinely addressed as part of the diagnostic process. patients and their families should be encouraged to access and update their medical records.
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Content Article'Deep End’ general practices serve communities in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. The analogy of the deep end of the swimming pool to describe how a one size fits all funding model for NHS GP practices regardless of area-based differences in patient needs leaves health professionals in high-deprivation places treading water to stay afloat. Lincolnshire’s East Coast is now amongst the most deprived communities in the UK. This in-depth article in BJGP Life reports on an event for local healthcare professionals and academic researchers hosted by First Coastal Primary Care Network (FCPCN) in November 2021, in Skegness, Lincolnshire. The aim of the event was to discuss the challenges that health professionals working within the FCPCN face with a focus on inequities and the experiences of the healthcare workforce.
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Content ArticleCancer Research UK’s latest analysis of NHS Digital cancer registration data uses the most complete recording to date of cancer rates by ethnicity in England, providing crucial data on how some cancer rates vary by ethnicity. The study found that although a small number of cancer sites have higher incidence rates in Asian, Black and Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups, for the majority of cancer sites these groups have a lower incidence than the White population. Differing prevalence of risk factors and access to/use of health services is likely to explain more of this variation than are genetic factors; if risk factor prevalence changes cancer rates may rise in minority ethnic groups, therefore action to address key risk factors and to improve the cancer experiences and outcomes of people in minority ethnic groups is vital. Improving the collection of ethnicity information in healthcare datasets will support a better understanding of differences in disease, as well as inequalities in cancer and where improvements in the health service can be made.
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Content ArticleThe aim of this study from Liu et al. was to assess the impact of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) first trimester screening algorithm for pre-eclampsia on health disparities in perinatal death among minority ethnic groups.
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Content ArticleThis report by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London highlights the opportunities and barriers for artificial intelligence to improve the health of the UK’s minority ethnic groups. It outlines the urgent need to address issues such as biased algorithms, poor data collection and a lack of diversity in research and development, in order to prevent a worsening of health inequalities experienced by minority ethnic groups.
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Content ArticleThis book focuses on the consumer’s perspective and emphasises how advocacy can influence change in healthcare quality at multiple social levels. This introductory volume synthesises patient advocacy from a multi-level approach and is an ideal text for graduate and professional students in schools of public health, nursing and social work.
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Content ArticleThis report by Bliss, the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick, found that young parents are often underprepared and under-supported when their babies are in neonatal care. Research by Bliss found that more than half of young parents felt they were not as involved in caregiving or decision-making as they wanted to be when their baby was born premature or sick. It also highlighted contradictory messages that young mothers are given throughout their pregnancy that their youth will be a protective factor, despite an increased risk of prematurity and neonatal mortality for babies born to mothers aged under 20. This myth leaves many young parents feeling unprepared, enhancing their feelings of shock and disbelief if their babies are born unwell.
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Content ArticleWith allegations into racial discrimination at the workplace rarely upheld by employers or courts, Roger Kline, Naledi Kline and Joy Warmington give a set of questions for investigators to ensure more robust investigations.
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Content ArticleThe RCM Podcast is a podcast by the Royal College of Midwives focusing on the work the RCM is doing with and on behalf of its midwife and maternity support worker members. In this episode, Gemma Murphy talks to midwife Vlora Purchase from Greenwich and Lewisham NHS Trust and safeguarding midwife Wendy Warrington from Pennine Care NHS Foundation, to gain insight into the important work they do. Gemma also catches up with RCM staff who developed a new RCM position statement on supporting women with severe and multiple disadvantage during pregnancy.
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Content ArticleWhile men over 50 tend to suffer the most acute symptoms of coronavirus, women who get Long Covid outnumber men by as much as four to one.
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Content ArticleThis campaign by the independent statutory body Healthwatch aims to help make sure more people get healthcare information in the way they need it. Patients need clear, accessible information in order to make informed decisions about their health and care. The Accessible Information Standard gives disabled people and people with a sensory loss the legal right to get health and social care information they can understand and communications support if they need it. 'Your Care, Your Way' is asking whether the standard is being delivered by services, and whether it goes far enough. The campaign aims to: Find out how well health and care services are delivering the Accessible Information Standard. Make sure that, if the standard covers you, you know your rights. Find out who else has problems understanding information about their healthcare and needs to be covered by the standard.
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Content ArticleA new report by the NHS Race and Health Observatory makes robust recommendations—we must act on them, write Mohammad S Razai and colleagues in this BMJ opinion piece. The magnitude of racial health inequalities reported in the NHS Race and Health Observatory’s recent review comes as no surprise. It highlighted the overwhelming, stark, widespread, and longstanding inequalities that people from ethnic minorities in the UK experience in access to healthcare and outcomes. The report found that this occurs “at every stage, throughout the life course, from birth to death” and is “rooted in experiences of structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism.” This evidence has been known for a long time, with the disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 on people from ethnic minorities drawing even greater attention to and wider recognition of these facts. Will evidence, however, be enough to compel those charged with the nation’s health to acknowledge and take urgent action to redress these egregious inequalities?
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Content ArticleIn this blog for the British Journal of General Practice comment and opinion website, BJGP Life, GP Will Mackintosh discusses the impact of health inequalities on patients' ability to play an active role in their care. He calls for training for all GPs to understand the constraints and pressures that may be affecting their patients, so that they can better assess the causes of health issues and therefore treat them more effectively. The article examines concepts of freedom for both GP and patient, and argues that a purely evidence-based approach does not help patients from deprived backgrounds overcome health issues. The author highlights that GPs operate in a 'grey zone' between the medical and the non-medical, and argues that this means they are well placed to understand and help tackle the root causes of health disparities.
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This blog explores men's mental health – how men are reluctant to seek support when they are struggling, why the suicide rate is so high, what initiatives exist to encourage men to seek help and what more could be done. -
Content ArticleAs well as a moral issue, tackling racism affecting NHS staff is a crucial part of improving patient safety and care, says MDX Research Fellow Roger Kline. In this blog, Roger looks at the risks of racism on patient safety.
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Content ArticlePulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease characterised by pulmonary vascular remodelling and elevated pulmonary pressure, which eventually leads to right heart failure and death. Registries worldwide have noted a female predominance of the disease, spurring particular interest in hormonal involvement in the disease pathobiology. Several experimental models have shown both protective and deleterious effects of oestrogens, suggesting that complex mechanisms participate in PAH pathogenesis. In fact, oestrogen metabolites as well as receptors and enzymes implicated in oestrogen signalling pathways and associated conditions such as BMPR2 mutation contribute to PAH penetrance more specifically in women. Conversely, females have better right ventricular function, translating to a better prognosis. Along with right ventricular adaptation, women tend to respond to PAH treatment differently from men. As some young women suffer from PAH, contraception is of particular importance, considering that pregnancy in patients with PAH is strongly discouraged due to high risk of death. When contraception measures fail, pregnant women need a multidisciplinary team-based approach. This article from Cheron et al. aims to review epidemiology, mechanisms underlying the higher female predominance, but better prognosis and the intricacies in management of women affected by PAH.
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Content ArticleMany devices in current use were marketed before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating devices in 1976. Thus, manufacturers of these devices were not required to demonstrate safety and effectiveness, which presents both clinical and ethical problem for patients, especially for women, as some of the most dangerous devices—such as implanted contraceptive devices— are used only in women. This article from Madris Kinard and Rita F. Redberg investigates whether and to what extent devices for women receive less rigorous scrutiny than devices for men. This article also suggests how the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health could more effectively ensure safety and effectiveness of devices that were marketed prior to 1976.
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Content ArticleThis report by the British Red Cross highlights the impact of deprivation and inequality on high intensity use of accident and emergency services (A&E), and the additional cost and strain this puts on these services. It shows that people from the most deprived areas of the UK and people with mental health issues are more likely to be in poor health and are most likely to attend A&E frequently. The report calls for better support for people who frequently attend A&E because they feel they have 'nowhere else to turn'.
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Birthrights video: Speak Up, Speak Out (16 November 2021)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Maternity
This video by the charity Birthrights encourages women and birthing people to speak out when they experience poor quality care. It highlights the right to safe and appropriate maternity care that respects individuals' dignity, privacy and confidentiality and is given equally and without discrimination. -
Content ArticleAccess to healthcare is a basic right, but refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK often face barriers to accessing health services. The Refugee Council has released this collection of guides and films for health professionals, decision-makers and NGOs to address health inequalities experienced by refugees and people seeking asylum.
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National Maternity and Perinatal Audit lay summaries (2021)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Maternity
The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) has produced lay summaries covering three of its sprint audits into: perinatal mental health services maternity care for women with a body mass index of 30kg/m2 or above ethnic and socio-economic inequalities in NHS maternity care. The NMPA is a large-scale project established to provide data and information to those working in and using maternity services. The purpose of NMPA is to evaluate and improve NHS maternity services, as well as to support women, birthing people and their families to use the data in their decision-making. -
Content ArticleThis report was triggered by the Coroner’s report into the death of Evan Nathan Smith in North Middlesex hospital. Evan was a young man with his whole life in front of him. The mistakes made in his treatment leading to his early and avoidable death brought into sharp focus the lack of understanding of sickle cell, the battles patients have to go through to get proper treatment and the terrible consequences which can come about as a result. Following the publication of the Coroner’s report, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia held three evidence sessions, hearing from patients, clinicians and politicians. This report is a result of that evidence. The findings in this report reveal a pattern of many years of sub-standard care, stigmatisation and lack of prioritisation which have resulted in sickle cell patients losing trust in the healthcare system that is there to help them, feeling scared to access hospitals, expecting poor treatment from some of those who are supposed to care for them and fearing that it is only a matter of time until they encounter serious care failings.
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Content ArticleThis report from the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit assesses care inequalities using data from births between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2018 across England, Scotland and Wales. The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) is led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in medicine to help with the diagnosis of diseases such as skin cancer. To be able to assist with this, AI needs to be ‘trained’ by looking at data and images from a large number of patients where the diagnosis has already been established, so an AI programme depends heavily upon the information it is trained on. This review, published in The Lancet Digital Health, looked at all freely accessible sets of data on skin lesions around the world. -
Content ArticleThis manifesto was created by the Community Rehabilitation Alliance, a collective of 50 charities, trade unions and professional bodies coming together to call on all political parties to ensure there is equal access to high quality community rehabilitation services for all patients.
