This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lavizzo-Mourey, R. Articles by Jung, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lavizzo-Mourey, R. Articles by Jung, M. Related Collections Health policy and outcome research

(Circulation. 2005;111:1208-1209.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial

Fighting Unequal Treatment

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a Quality-Improvement Approach to Disparities

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA; Minna Jung, JD

From The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ.

Correspondence to Minna Jung, JD, Communications Officer, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Route 1 and College Rd E, Princeton, NJ 08543-2316. E-mail mjung@rwjf.org

Key Words: Editorials • health policy • ethnic groups

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Ensuring that all Americans have access to quality health care is one of the major goals of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), as is improving the quality of health care for people with chronic conditions. Working toward this goal means that we must eliminate the embarrassing and unacceptable gaps in health care experienced by racial and ethnic minorities. Research indicates that Americans do not receive half of the care that experts recommend,¹ but the evidence also indicates that these quality gaps are even worse for racial and ethnic minorities.²

Disparities in treatment exist across a wide range of chronic conditions, and the evidence of differential treatment is particularly strong with regard to treatment for cardiovascular conditions such as myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure.³ Even though disparities in care have not been conclusively linked to disparities in health outcomes, many experts believe that persistent patterns of lower-quality care for minority Americans do contribute to worse health outcomes, which could explain in part the disproportionate impact of heart disease on minority Americans. Mortality rates from cardiovascular disease are higher among blacks than whites,⁴ and one study found that heart disease accounted for nearly one third of the overall mortality difference between black and white patients.⁵ For all of these reasons, efforts to reduce disparities in cardiovascular care are likely to be particularly important in closing gaps in care and will be a high priority for RWJF in the next half decade. This editorial describes the foundation’s approach to reducing racial . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. M. Rousseau, G. N. Ioannou, J. A. Todd-Stenberg, K. L. Sloan, M. F. Larson, C. W. Forsberg, and J. A. Dominitz Racial Differences in the Evaluation and Treatment of Hepatitis C Among Veterans: A Retrospective Cohort Study Am J Public Health, May 1, 2008; 98(5): 846 - 852. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. W. Yancy, W. T. Abraham, N. M. Albert, R. Clare, W. G. Stough, M. Gheorghiade, B. H. Greenberg, C. M. O'Connor, L. She, J. L. Sun, et al. Quality of Care of and Outcomes for African Americans Hospitalized With Heart Failure: Findings From the OPTIMIZE-HF (Organized Program to Initiate Lifesaving Treatment in Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure) Registry J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., April 29, 2008; 51(17): 1675 - 1684. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. M. Davis, L. M. Vinci, T. M. Okwuosa, A. R. Chase, and E. S. Huang Cardiovascular Health Disparities: A Systematic Review of Health Care Interventions Med Care Res Rev, October 1, 2007; 64(5_suppl): 29S - 100S. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. R. Kressin Separate but Not Equal: The Consequences of Segregated Health Care Circulation, October 25, 2005; 112(17): 2582 - 2584. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Verderese Drug for Black Patients With Heart Failure Nears Approval DOC News, June 1, 2005; 2(6): 1 - 8. [Full Text]