Opportunities to Improve Care and Promote Health Equity for Black People with Serious Illness

In 2022, CAPC presented a national briefing on the key findings from a national scan to better understand what goes wrong for Black people living with serious illness, and their families. The presenters highlighted that the experiences Black people have are impacted on various levels via the socioecological model. At that time, the presenters shared supporting literature demonstrating that symptom management (both pain and non-pain) provided to Black people living with serious illness is worse than that for White patients.

In this webinar, Brittany Chambers, MPH, and Kimberly Johnson, MD, shared an update on literature since the first briefing, and discussed successful equity-focused interventions, including staff DEI education and training efforts, care navigation, data collection, and community engagement approaches. They also reviewed evidence-based principles for providing better care for Black people living with serious illness, and their caregivers. Finally, the presenters offered insights on new policies and payment opportunities that may reduce racial disparities and improve health outcomes.