New Multinational Health Equity Data Unlocks Intersection of Community Insights, Unmet Needs and Business Impact to Achieve Health Equity

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Sep 12, 2023, 08:00 ET

Data shows six out of 10 global respondents experience discrimination when seeking healthcare and nearly 80% report a lack of trust in the healthcare system

NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new global health equity data report released today by Omnicom PR Group (OPRG) finds widespread lack of trust in healthcare systems among non-white, LGBTQAI+ and immigrant communities and that a clear majority report experiencing explicit discrimination when seeking healthcare.

The Intersection of Health Equity in Communities & Business Strategy: A Call-to-Action is a comprehensive examination of the lived experiences of people in diverse communities when accessing healthcare in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Spain. Part of an OPRG initiative launched in 2022 to enlist business and community leaders to find ways to address health inequities, the report is based on a survey of 6,000 individuals assessing experiences with discrimination, trust in healthcare systems, the use of digital technology to access healthcare information, the role of trusted community members in health education, and engagement in health with emotional intelligence and connection.

Survey data shows that 62% of all respondents report experiencing explicit discrimination when seeking healthcare and 77% reported a lack of trust in health systems. Four in 10 respondents seek healthcare information from individuals outside a healthcare provider's office, and 70% seek healthcare information online. The data also shows that explicit discrimination, lack of trust and the digital divide are more pronounced among non-white, LGBTQAI+ and immigrant communities.

"Our robust communities data unearths eye-opening statistics and vital individual insights that break data silos to look through the lens of health inequalities from those who experience it," says Paul George, Global Health Lead, Omnicom PR Group (OPRG). "The report demonstrates the extent of the problems on a global scale as well as specific challenges facing individual communities and countries. This data will inform academic curricular, intersectoral initiatives and business strategies that help advance health equity."

Topline data also shows – at the community level – gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ and immigration status are palpable social determinants of health equity, and lived experiences differ among specific communities and countries.

U.S. respondents were +13% more likely to report experiences with discrimination in healthcare compared to the next closest country, Germany, and as much as +43% compared to their U.K. counterparts. Explicit discrimination was most pronounced among individuals with disabilities (90%), Native Americans (89%), Black Americans (87%) and the LBGTQAI+ community (86%).
At 84%, Spain outpaced the U.S., U.K. and Germany in the percentage of respondents reporting a lack of trust in the healthcare system. In addition, data shows that while the Romani community may receive connections to other resources outside of healthcare, the challenge remains getting them to the examination room.
In Germany, immigrants and refugee respondents were nearly twice as likely to have lost trust in a healthcare provider because they were not connected to those who share or understand their background and culture.
In the U.K., non-white British respondents were twice as likely to rank "feeling safe" and "fairness" first among all response options when asked to complete the following: "When I'm looking for a healthcare provider, I look for (blank)."
- Black, Black British, Caribbean or African respondents were twice as likely to rank "feeling safe" as their foremost emotional consideration when seeing their healthcare providers versus their white counterparts.
- Asian or Asian British and mixed race or multiple ethnic groups were three times as likely to rank "fairness" as their foremost emotional consideration when seeing their healthcare providers versus white counterparts.

"A laser focus on health equity is not charity or philanthropy. It's a business imperative and revenue driver that, if not addressed, has serious business ramifications," said CEO Reggie Ware, BlackDoctor.org (BDO) and a data design and report advisor. "Our resolve is to continue our co-creation and keep steadfast in our commitment to communities, and not let the status quo of "doing business as usual" or conversation fatigue deter our focus."

International data will be presented at a public health annual conference, and it has prompted a community summit led by BlackDoctor.org to take place early 2024.

Organizations and people who contributed to data design and/or served as report contributors include BlackDoctor.org (BDO); WebMD's chief medical officer; Rutgers Institute for Corporate Social Innovation (RICSI); Rutgers School of Public Health; Global Healthy Living Foundation; Africa Advocacy Foundation; Tigerlily Foundation; Community Health Worker Coalition for Migrants and Refugees; Uché Blackstock, MD, CEO and founder of Advancing Health Equity; Donna Futterman, MD; social media medical educator/medical student Joel Bervell; Julius Johnson of Greater NYC Black Nurses Association; Bryan O. Buckley, DrPH, MPH, MBA, director of Health Equity Initiatives at NCQA; community engagement experts from the U.K., Germany, Spain and U.S.; disability and LGBTQIA+ community experts; and more.

Data Unearths Five Key Themes
The full report summarizes research findings on diverse community perceptions of their healthcare experiences in Germany, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. Themes include:

Discrimination remains a pervasive issue in healthcare systems globally, with a significant number of respondents reporting experiences of discrimination based on their age, weight, race or ethnicity, gender, finances, religion or faith, and sexual orientation or identity.
Broken trust and not feeling safe in the healthcare system is a global phenomenon. Broken trust refers to the ability of actors (healthcare providers) in the health system to understand their patient populations, connect to patients in a meaningful way to produce better health outcomes and solve problems beyond treatment and care.
Community engagement is essential to healing broken trust and promoting health seeking behavior via meaningfully and actively bringing trusted community leaders (such as the faith-based community and community healers) into the healthcare ecosystem to implement health promotion and education, as well as linkage and retention to care and treatment.
Digital divide is a global trend, such that the combination of the internet and social media are the two most frequently used methods for obtaining health information, for individuals and/or their families.
Lack of emotional intelligence and connection are top of mind globally when looking for healthcare providers, as people look for values such as trust, understanding, respect, competency and empathy. Communities in different geographies differ in what they value emotionally, and as communicators our language must reflect values.

"There is a strong business case for private sector engagement in health equity that spans beyond shifting investor expectations and a moral imperative to business metrics such as revenue, unlocking new customer audiences, customer retention and employee satisfaction," says Terri Jackson, partner, Rabin Martin, part of OPRG. "Our team is excited to modernize how the private sector engages in global health equity."

Data from an online survey (March 2023) was conducted by Atlantic Insights (the marketing research division of The Atlantic), reviewed by OPRG and its key stakeholder networks, and executed by Lucid, a subsidiary of Cint. The survey consisted of 35 questions, fielded to 6,001 respondents in four countries: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain (1,500n for each country). In the U.S., 375n of each of the following races/ethnicities were surveyed: Black, white, Hispanic, Asian/Indigenous. Each country sample included about 500n of people who experience a mental or physical disability. Questionnaires were reviewed by native experts and designed with language differences. In the U.S. and Spain, questions were translated into Spanish, and in German for Germany. An independent health literacy expert served as final survey questions editor. No weighting was applied to the survey. Study limitations include those with access to the internet, and the survey could be taken over a cellular phone.

About Omnicom PR Group (OPRG)
Omnicom PR Group (OPRG) is the largest global network of communications and consulting agencies in the world, representing the collective intelligence, capabilities, and connections of 20 iconic agency brands. We have the unique ability to bring together the best and brightest team members with the most diverse skillsets to provide bespoke communications solutions to our clients in more than 70 different countries around the world. OPRG is a part of Omnicom Group, assembling teams that are the best at applying the art of storytelling to deliver on our clients' business goals.

About Atlantic Insights + Cint

Atlantic Insights is the marketing research division of The Atlantic, with custom and co-branded research experience spanning finance, technology, healthcare, and small business.

Cint hosts the world's largest consumer network for digital market research, consisting of more than 149 million research participants in over 130 countries – accessing more than 4,500 individual market research panels and sample sources. The Cint platform offers a unique and transparent marketplace environment for buyers and sellers of sample to connect and transact by matching a seller's market research panel and respondent profiling data against the buyer's sampling needs in real-time. This makes Cint the most effective and efficient way to access sample to conduct digital market research at scale and at speed.

SOURCE Omnicom Public Relations Group