Program for Equity in Adolescent & Child Health (PEACH)

Project start date and end date: 01/01/2023 - 01/01/2028

Background:
Equity in the delivery of pediatric care is often taken for granted. We in the health-care system want to provide the best possible care to all adolescents and children. Yet, we also know that we exist in a society impacted by inequality and that in turn can shape our perceptions and actions, regardless of our good intentions. Children who differ in terms of characteristics such as ability status, gender, sexual orientation, income gradient, language, weight status, race, or ethnicity may enter the hospital or doctor's office and be responded to differently due to one – or multiple – of those characteristics. In other words, these children may experience a health inequity. Considerable research demonstrates health inequities in the way adult patients are provided care across multiple domains (e.g., different assessment of chest pain by gender and variation in pain management by race/ethnicity). Moreover, in other fields, such as education and law enforcement, we know inequities exist in the experiences of adolescents and children. However, we know very little about inequities in pediatric care and, critically, about the interventions that should be in place to address the inequities that exist.

Objective:
PEACH's objective is to improve equity in the delivery of care to adolescents and children. To carry out that objective, PEACH functions as a hub of resources available to those in partnering units who have a question about pediatric equity. Faculty and staff propose ideas that they will take the lead in researching and addressing; PEACH provides support to help faculty and staff explore ideas, translate feasible ideas into research, and implement quality improvement programs to address any inequities identified through research.

Research Topics & Methods:
We take an interdisciplinary, data-driven approach to identifying inequities and use quality improvement expertise to develop systems-level approaches to eliminating any inequities identified.

Implications:
While our work starts at Michigan Medicine, we hypothesize that pediatric equity issues are present in other health systems across the state and the country. Thus, findings from our projects will be disseminated to inform local, state, and national decision makers to provide actionable steps to identify and address inequities. Ultimately, our goal is to improve equity in pediatric care for all.

Funder:
PEACH is supported by 11 clinical departments/divisions in the School of Medicine, along with Mott Hospital, the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, Poverty Solutions, and several other units at the University of Michigan.  In addition, this project was made possible by funding provided by the Children's Foundation.

Contacts:
Gary Freed, MD, MPH
PEACH Program Director

Susan Woolford, MD, MPH
Associate Director

Office Phone: 734-615-7272
Email: peach-comms@med.umich.edu