-
Atlantic Health dives deep on data to advance health equity
Leaders at Atlantic Medical Group, a multispecialty physician network that is part of Atlantic Health System, in New Jersey, couldn’t figure out why the response rate for a patient-experience survey was so low among Spanish-speaking patients. The survey was in Spanish, but the response rate was just 8%, less than half the rate from the general population, said the medical group’s chief medical officer Scott Lauter, MD. Some digging revealed that the survey’s promotional materials were written in English. “We realized we weren’t hearing the voices of our patients who speak Spanish,” he said. The physician network took immediate steps to translate the materials into Spanish. “It’s a little story…
-
Research methodology offers a model that can be followed in other states using public data and open-source software — ScienceDaily
Air pollution remains a silent killer in Massachusetts, responsible for an estimated 2,780 deaths a year and for measurable cognitive loss in Bay State children exposed to fine particulate pollutants in the air they breathe, according to a new study by researchers at Boston College’s Global Observatory on Planetary Health. The study was supported by the Barr Foundation and is the first to examine far-reaching public health consequences of air pollution in the state on a town-by-town basis. The study found air-pollution-related disease, death and IQ loss occur in every city and town regardless of demographics or income level. Highest rates were in the most economically disadvantaged and socially underserved…
