Data Collection to Increase Palliative Care Clinic Visits by Black and Latino Patients

Data collection is a powerful tool in helping programs gain a better understanding of whether they are reaching patient populations equitably. When the UCSF outpatient palliative care team began reviewing its data with a more intentional equity lens, it discovered that Black and Latino patients were less likely to make initial and follow-up appointments compared to White patients. To address this, the team started hosting focus group sessions with Black and Latino patients to better understand the ‘why’ behind the disparities within their community. The team planned to use both the programmatic and qualitative data to create quality improvement projects for the overall program.