Research on Health Equity Communication in Conservative States
Center for Accelerating Care Transformation
RESEARCH COLLABORATION
The Need | The Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program to support state primary care and behavioral health associations, with the ultimate aim of cultivating health policy and care systems that are more equitable and better meet the needs of individuals and families. The Center for Accelerating Care Transformation (ACT Center) participated in the Delta Center as a technical assistance and evaluation partner. After serving as a Delta Center grantee at the Oregon Primary Care Association, Ariel worked with the ACT Center as a Delta Center state coach and research team member.
The Approach | Advancing state-level health equity policies within the current politically polarized environment requires nuanced approaches. The ACT Center wanted to learn more about how state primary care associations (PCAs) and behavioral health state associations (BHSAs) are advancing health equity policies in conservative states.
The Outcomes | The research team conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 16 organizational, policy, and program leaders in roles such as CEO, policy director, and program manager from PCAs and BHSAs in five conservative states (AK, KS, LA, MS, and OK). Ariel worked with the research team to:
● Develop the interview guide
● Analyze and interpret findings
● Summarize and refine key themes
● Write the manuscript for peer-reviewed publication
The Learnings | We learned so much from these incredible safety net health care association leaders. Four core themes emerged from their perspectives:
● Invest in relationships across the political spectrum, even when that investment requires significant emotional labor.
● Avoid polarizing language and jargon.
● Change is possible, but progress requires time, persistence, and adaptability.
● Tribal nations are important allies for health equity in the states where they live.
