Source
The Pursuing Equity Learning and Action Network was an 18-month initiative from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) which ran from October 2020 until April 2022. It aimed to reduce inequities in health and health care access, treatment, and outcomes by implementing comprehensive strategies to create and sustain equitable health systems. Participating teams selected a clinical project and worked with an IHI coach towards their goal.
This case study describes a quality improvement project undertaken by the North West Toronto Ontario Health Team as part of their participation in Pursuing Equity. For the Pursuing Equity Learning and Action Network, each team selected a clinical project. For their project, the NWT OHT set the following goals:
- Build capacity as an OHT and on the organizational level to apply a health equity lens to quality improvement (QI) initiatives; and
- Improve vaccine equity by utilizing data and QI methods from a partner organization.
To ensure that the project was manageable, the team decided to focus on one partner organization: Black Creek Community Health Centre, which holds a weekly vaccine clinic for their rostered primary care clients. They used sociodemographic data collected during these vaccine clinics to determine which populations were accessing vaccines and which weren't, and they used this data to develop tailored interventions for their Spanish-speaking clients.