Physician Awareness Campaign: Racial/Ethic Disparities in Cardiac Care

Publication Date: August 2004

Publisher: Rand; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Author(s): A. Jain; A. Fremont; N. Lurie; S. Taylor

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

Numerous efforts are under way to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care, yet research has shown that both the public and health care providers are largely unaware of such disparities. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has sought to increase physicians' awareness of disparities in care and has focused its campaign on cardiologists and the primary care physicians who refer to them. Its initiative consisted of three major strategies: an advertising campaign, a review and dissemination of evidence on disparities in cardiovascular care, and a partnership of 13 professional organizations working to increase awareness of disparities among its constituents.

RAND, funded by KFF and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) conducted an evaluation of the campaign. The evaluation sought to describe the campaign's major results, assess the engagement of the partnering organizations, assess the level of physician awareness of disparities and identify lessons learned. Findings indicated that the initiative impacted a significant number of targeted providers. Four out of 10 cardiologists reported that they were aware of the campaign; half of those felt that it had impacted their knowledge, and a third reported it had changed their behavior. The initiative had a positive effect on participating organizations, significantly increasing or altering their activities in response to the initiative. The evaluation suggests that campaigns which encourage more contributions from participants might yield greater impact on awareness of racial and ethnic disparities.