K08 – Advancing Health Equity through Project ECHO: Strategies for Breaking Down Silos

Summary

Diversity, equity, and engagement. Organizations use these words as they strive to become more diverse, yet many leaders are uncertain about the steps needed to turn dialogue – and intention – into action. There is a gap in understanding how health provider organizations have been successful in advancing Diversity, Equity, and Engagement (DEE) efforts for their staff and clients and there are limited options for organizations to learn from other’s successes and challenges. The ECHO model breaks down this barrier by bringing together diverse organizations in engaging virtual peer-to-peer learning, prioritizing case-based learning and open discussions. The ECHO style of learning provides a safe space for constructive discussions with a group of organizations who share the same vision and goal. With this in mind, the Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Solutions (CoE) launched the CoE Health Equity ECHO in February of 2021, as a way to fill the learning gap around practical implementation strategies for advancing DEE efforts within health organizations. How does the Health Equity ECHO model work? Participants share their challenges, questions, and concerns with advancing DEE with other organizations and experts to gather their feedback, ideas, and practical strategies to help improve their efforts. This modality allows organizations to share their vulnerable experiences without the feeling of shame, embarrassment, or disconnection. The ECHO model strives to create an environment of connection and support across diverse providers, breaking down silos of learning and subject matter expertise. This ECHO is the first of its kind to focus on DEE and has proven a successful strategy for advancing efforts on a national scale. Organizations from across the nation are involved from 20 different states ranging from state and local health agencies to federal health advocacy and education agencies. Topics discussed throughout this ECHO are focused on understanding and addressing: how to leverage integrated care best practices to engage marginalized communities; the impacts of bias on hiring and recruiting practices; moral and cultural safety; barriers and opportunities for improving access to care for racial and ethnic minorities; compassion fatigue and promoting resilience; and opportunities for engaging people with lived experience in a more meaningful way. Just after one session, 87% of participants noted that they plan to make improvements in their work based on the information discussed during the session and shared that “they were moved by the idea of cultural humility and the understanding of the term brought awareness to me,” and that the “the depth of the experience from BIPOC folks was the most powerful part of this meeting.” A summary of the ECHO evaluation findings will be shared during this presentation, as well as a review of the impacts the ECHO model has on de-monopolizing knowledge and skills across diverse regions.