Diversity and Inclusion in Quality Patient Care

? No other hospital department cares for patients as diverse as those who come to the Emergency Department (ED). These patients occupy all stages and positions of life and health. Many belong to distinct minority cultures defined by the patient's sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, spirituality, language, race, and ethnicity. It has been well documented that minorities face poor healthcare outcomes and inadequate emergency treatment. Furthermore, research has established that adults age 75 and older, non-Hispanic black persons, poor persons, and persons with Medicaid coverage are more likely than other people to have at least one ED visit in a 12-month period. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, particularly the Medicaid expansion, EDs across the United States are poised to care for an unprecedented number of underserved minorities. The need to equip emergency healthcare professionals to practice medicine that is culturally competent in the broadest possible sense has never been greater. EMERGENCY MEDICINE Diversity, Inclusion, and Quality Care aims to fill this need.

The book is based on a 2005 monograph written for use by faculty, residents, and students in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). Spearheaded by Dr. Martin, who was then president of SAEM, it emphasized the importance of training emergency healthcare professionals to be cultural sensitive in caring for patients. As currently written, the educational chapters and 11 case studies serve as a framework for principles of cultural competency in the ED. The proposed book will expand upon this framework and include new chapters on the different kinds of minority cultures to which an ED patient may belong and what clinicians need to understand about these patients to provide culturally competent, high quality healthcare.

The editors and contributing authors have extensive background in emergency medicine, both in clinical and academic settings, and all hold or have held leadership positions related to emergency medicine and diversity in the healthcare setting . The target audience includes emergency medicine trainees, fellows, faculty as well as emergency medicine trainees and faculty in nurse practitioner and physician's assistant programs.

Editors:
Marcus L. Martin, MD
Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity
Professor of Emergency Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine
Charlottesville, VA, USA
 
Sheryl Heron, MD, MPH
Professor of Emergency Medicine
Vice Chair – Administrative Affairs
Assistant Dean Clinical Education & Student Affairs
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA, USA
 
Lisa Moreno-Walton, MD, MS, MSCR
Professor of Emergency Medicine
Director of Emergency Medicine Research
Director of Diversity in Emergency Medicine
Department of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center- New Orleans
New Orleans, LA, USA
 
Managing Editor:
Anna Walker Jones, BA
Charlottesville, VA, USA