University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin,
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin.
WMJ. 2021 Mar;120(S1):S54-S58.
The terms diversity, equity, and inclusion have become part of a national conversation as we come to grips with longstanding societal negligence. But what do these terms mean with respect to health care, and are we manifesting them in our medical practices?
Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index and Google, we mapped the locations of physical therapy and primary care clinics within the 4 most diverse Wisconsin counties-Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Dane-which also had high Social Vulnerability Indexes, to assess health equity in these communities.
Most physical therapy practices are located outside of vulnerable communities. While primary care is much more proficient at having a presence in these neighborhoods, there are still absences in some areas.
Our analysis suggests that physical therapy services in Wisconsin are often inaccessible to members of vulnerable communities: a matter of equity. Efforts to improve equity via patient access must entail interventions that address the other components of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We recommend that other health care professionals conduct similar analyses in order to determine whether we, as a health care community, are positioning ourselves to best service our patients.
随着我们开始应对长期存在的社会忽视问题，多样性、公平性和包容性等术语已成为全国对话的一部分。但是，就医疗保健而言，这些术语意味着什么，我们是否在医疗实践中体现了这些理念？
我们使用疾病控制与预防中心的社会脆弱性指数和谷歌，在威斯康星州 4 个最多样化的县（密尔沃基、拉辛、基诺沙和戴恩）内绘制了物理治疗和初级保健诊所的位置，这些县的社会脆弱性指数也很高，以评估这些社区的健康公平性。
大多数物理治疗实践都位于弱势社区之外。虽然初级保健在这些社区的存在更为熟练，但在某些地区仍存在缺失。
我们的分析表明，威斯康星州的物理治疗服务通常无法为弱势社区的成员提供服务：这是公平性的问题。通过患者准入来改善公平性的努力必须包括解决多样性、公平性和包容性的其他组成部分的干预措施。我们建议其他医疗保健专业人员进行类似的分析，以确定我们作为医疗保健界是否正在定位自己，以最好地为患者服务。
