A Learning Community Supporting Experiential Education to Learn About Healthcare Equity Quality Improvement

BackgroundQuality improvement (QI) for healthcare equity (HCE) is an important aspect of graduate medical education (GME), but there is limited published research on educational programs teaching this topic.AimTo describe and evaluate a novel curriculum and learning community for HCE QI.SettingAcademic institution.ParticipantsForty-eight participants: 32 learners and 16 faculty.Program DescriptionThis novel, longitudinal curriculum utilized a virtual hub-and-spoke learning community. Five interdepartmental teams of learners and faculty (spokes) used QI methods to address an existing institutional healthcare inequity (HCI). A team of experts (the hub) led monthly group meetings to foster the learning community and guide teams.Program EvaluationRetrospective pre-post curricular surveys assessed participant satisfaction, knowledge, and skills in applying QI methods to address HCIs. Response rate was 33%. The majority of participants (92.4%) reported an increase in knowledge and skills in conducting QI for HCIs. All participants reported an increased likelihood of future engagement in HCE QI. Final QI projects average QIPAT7 score was 25.8 (SD = 4.93), consistent with "meets expectations" in most categories.DiscussionThis program is a feasible model to teach GME learners and faculty about HCE QI and may be adopted by other institutions.