Published in:
11-11-2022 | Original Article
Characteristics of US nonprofit hospitals using equity as a guiding framework for developing their community health needs assessments and implementation strategies
Published in: Journal of Public Health | Issue 12/2023
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Background
Hospitals can improve health care quality and population health by addressing equity and the social and structural determinants of health. One avenue for hospitals to address equity is through their community benefit programs. However, it is unclear how often hospitals incorporate an equity perspective into their community benefit program design and implementation and what community or hospital characteristics are associated with hospitals that do so.
Methods
This study was a cross sectional analysis of nonprofit hospitals’ community health needs assessments (CHNAs) and implementation strategies (ISs) from a national sample of 474 nonprofit US hospitals. The dependent variable of interest was whether a hospital used equity as a guiding framework to develop their CHNA or IS. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to assess hospital and community characteristics significantly associated with hospitals using equity as a guiding framework to develop their CHNAs and ISs.
Results
The majority of hospitals used equity as a guiding framework. Three hospital characteristics, teaching, non-rural, and hospital system membership, predicted using equity as a guiding framework.
Conclusion
Future studies should (1) include additional methods and measures to explore the mechanisms driving hospitals to adopt an equity framework, and (2) explore whether hospitals that use equity as a guiding framework are more likely to implement equity related community benefit programs.