Release of county-level data reveals disparities in care
We are pleased to publish the detailed, county-level data we used to produce the 2014 Disparities in Care Report. Organizations such as public health departments, city and county governments, regional health improvement groups and hospitals have all expressed interested in gaining access to this data. Why? This data can inform health equity initiatives, population health management strategies and community health needs assessments.
Why is this data different from national reports on disparities in care? There are excellent reports, such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings & Roadmaps and IHME’s US County Profiles, which look at disparities in health outcomes. But without knowing why some racial and ethnic groups have worse health than others, it’s difficult for hospitals and other health providers to initiate meaningful quality improvement initiatives. Our data looks at process—what kind of care is being delivered—in order to answer this question.
Now that we can share this information, groups who are working on population health can see data for their community and compare across counties.
More information
- 2014 Disparities in Care Report: County-Level Data (2.3 MB PDF)
- 2014 Disparities in Care Report (1.2 MB PDF)
- 2013 Disparities in Care Report (1.8 MB PDF)