Health Policy Research Roundup: Long-Term Care, Diabetes Disparities, Health IT

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Annals of Internal Medicine: Cultural Competency Training and Performance Reports to Improve Diabetes Care for Black Patients - In this study, researchers measure the effects cultural competency training and performance training for physicians has on the clinical outcomes for black patients with diabetes. By comparing the patient outcomes among blacks whose physicians received training to those who had not, the authors conclude that though "cultural competency training combined with individual clinician-level performance feedback on racial disparities … increased awareness of disparities," such changes were "not accompanied by improvement in diabetes outcomes for black patients. ... Future studies should focus on methods to build on this increased clinician awareness, possibly through programs that engage patients and the community in more effective management of diabetes and incorporate the skills of other allied health professionals, including nurses, pharmacists, and nutritionists," they conclude (Sequist et al., 1/5).

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