CTC-RI Hosts 4th Webinar in Demographic Data Collection Pilot Train-the-Trainer Series

This month's fourth session of our train-the-trainer series for the Demographic Data Collection Pilot, featured presentations from experts Luisa Cardenas and Farah Kader of the New York Academy of Medicine and Westchester County Department of Health. They discussed the importance of disaggregating race/ethnicity data beyond current federal standards and presented compelling research supporting the implementation of disaggregation in healthcare, revealing hidden disparities. Also discussed were ways to analyze this detailed data with a focus on fair health practices and exploring how patients feel in sharing specific race/ethnicity information in a health care setting.

There was substantial webinar attendance from participating healthcare practices. Following the presentations, breakout sessions were conducted, allowing practices to discuss their experiences with closed-ended questions about race and ethnicity. They explored the ease or difficulty in choosing responses that align with self-identity and shared strategies for situations where provided options do not fully represent individuals. The sessions also addressed participants' comfort levels in disclosing race/ethnicity within a healthcare context, assessing potential changes over time. This collaborative discussion enriched the webinar by incorporating diverse perspectives into the discourse on demographic data collection and health equity.