Addressing the ACGME Mandate for Healthcare Disparities Education in Residency Programs: A Needs Assessment

To assess current opinions and efforts from radiology residency program leadership regarding healthcare disparities (HCD) education for residents.

Radiology residency program directors across the United States were sent a 10-item survey and asked a series of qualitative questions regarding their opinions about HCD and current methods of implementation into their residency curriculum, in addition to demographic information such as program location and setting.

73 out of 334 program directors responded. 49.3% were located in the Northeast, 16.4% in the Southeast, 16.4% in the Midwest, 12.3% in the Southwest, and 5.5% in the Pacific. Community programs made up 16.4% of respondents, while academic programs made up 76.7%. 6.8% identified as "other". 98.6% agreed with the provided definition of HCD. 83.6% agreed or strongly agreed that HCD present an obstacle to providing imaging care. 74.0% agreed or strongly agreed that HCD education is an essential component of residency training. However, 74.0% agreed or strongly agreed that HCD education is difficult to implement due to competing educational requirements. Only 16.4% agreed or strongly agreed that they had sufficient material on HCD to train residents.

Although many radiology residency programs agree that HCD education is essential in residency training, the majority feel that a curriculum is difficult to implement and that they lack sufficient resources. This study confirms the need to address this gap with a standardized curriculum which has been developed and is discussed.