Mitigating structural racism to reduce inequities in sepsis outcomes: a mixed methods, longitudinal intervention...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Equity
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Sepsis impacts 1.7 million US patients annually, contributing significantly to mortality and healthcare costs.
• African American/Black and LatinX populations face disproportionately higher rates of sepsis complications and adverse outcomes.
• Existing research highlights structural racism in sepsis care, yet prospective interventions to reduce these inequities are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To deliver and evaluate a coalition-based intervention aimed at mitigating structural racism in sepsis care.
• To equip health systems and communities with tools to address racial disparities in sepsis outcomes.
• To drive measurable reductions in sepsis-related health inequities.

Main Methods:

• A coalition-based leadership intervention will be implemented across eight U.S. health systems.
• A longitudinal, convergent mixed methods approach will assess the intervention's impact on organizational culture.
• Interrupted time series analysis will evaluate changes in racial inequities for early identification (time to antibiotic), in-hospital mortality, and sepsis readmissions.

Main Results:

• This section is not applicable as the abstract describes the study design and aims, not the results.
• This section is not applicable as the abstract describes the study design and aims, not the results.
• This section is not applicable as the abstract describes the study design and aims, not the results.

Conclusions:

• This research addresses critical calls to action from the NIH and Sepsis Alliance regarding sepsis care inequities.
• It pioneers an intervention to mitigate the effects of structural racism by fostering anti-racist organizational cultures.
• The findings have potential implications for reducing inequities in various complex health outcomes beyond sepsis.