3 EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE
The need to address health equity across diverse populations has become more critical as disparities have increased.
Upstream curated this trend report for attendees of the HLTH USA 2024 conference on October 20-23. We believe these 7 healthcare trends are essential for enhancing outcomes for everyone. As experts in Human-Centered Design, we are excited to see these trends gain momentum and are committed to continuing our contributions to their growth.
Urgency of health equity:
Aging Population - Americans 65+ expected to rise 47% from 58M to 82M in 30 years.
Medicaid Coverage ~40M children on Medicaid being removed at higher rates than adults.
Rural Healthcare - 60M Americans in rural areas; 80% are medically underserved.
Racial Disparities - Black women 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Design goals:
Eliminate systemic racial bias in medical practice.
Tackle rural healthcare crises.
Address gaps in neurological care for aging adults.
Innovative approaches to mental health screenings.
Engage staff to recognize and combat racial bias.
Integrate Community Health Centers to advance primary care access.
Build a resilient and equitable healthcare system for all patients and providers.
Strategies for addressing health inequities:
Systems thinking.
Prioritize inclusive design processes.
Leverage empathy.
Foster collaborations.
Why we’re excited:
Human-centered design is perfectly suited to tackle inequity by engaging the voices and experiences of those most affected by inequity in collaborative intervention development.
This method not only highlights overlooked perspectives but also creates culturally sensitive and accessible solutions that break down systemic barriers, fostering more equitable outcomes across different systems.
Its iterative process ensures continuous feedback and adaptation, guaranteeing that interventions remain sustainable and effective over time.
