RWJF Perspective

Expecting Success: One of Several Projects Sharing Promising Strategies

The Expecting Success program is a critical component of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF) overall strategy to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care, because the Foundation needs hospitals and others to lead the way on testing what strategies are most likely to improve care for their minority patients. 

However, Expecting Success also works in collaboration with other RWJF programs to share lessons about promising strategies to reduce racial and ethnic gaps in care. For example: 

Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change

This RWJF program will provide evaluation dollars to health care organizations already testing interventions to address racial and ethnic disparities in care. The primary goal of Finding Answers is to evaluate which strategies work to improve the quality of care for vulnerable populations, particularly patients from specific racial and ethnic backgrounds known to experience low-quality care for many chronic conditions, and then disseminate the results of this research.

The program will direct evaluation dollars towards interventions that improve treatment for depression, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, because those diseases take a heavy toll on minority patients and have established standards of recommended care. The national program office (NPO) for Finding Answers is located at the University of Chicago. Currently, the NPO is reviewing project proposals and plans to start the grants for those projects that are ultimately selected in December 2006.

Leading Change: Disparities Solutions Initiative

This RWJF initiative is solely focused on building leadership and capacity among health care organizations to take action on racial and ethnic disparities. Although all RWJF grantees are or will be involved in communicating the results of their work, Leading Change in particular will play a critical role in synthesizing and disseminating the results of disparities programs and projects supported by RWJF to hospitals, health plans and others.

To do this, Leading Change will work with Expecting Success, Finding Answers and other RWJF programs to identify best practices among health care organizations that are blending quality improvement strategies (like data collection and disease management strategies) with the specific intention of improving the quality of health care for racial and ethnic groups who are likely to experience worse care.

Leading Change, which is based at Massachusetts General Hospital, will design and market a series of activities to get these best practices into the hands of audiences like health care organizations, policymakers and the media. Currently, Leading Change is working on its first-year slate of activities involving health care organizations, which includes case studies where health care organizations are already doing disparities work. 

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.