Oral

This session will focus on the needs of vulnerable, high-risk populations who are often medically underserved with poor access to care, and who are often disproportionately affected by health disparities including higher prevalence of chronic conditions and worse outcomes. Vulnerable populations are also often left out of public health planning. We begin with a presentation that discusses a methodology to identify vulnerable populations and strategies to include them in disaster preparedness planning. Our next two presentations describe strategies to improve access to health care for the uninsured through partnerships. Specifically addressed are issues around overcoming the barriers to health care associated with non-citizen status. While most discussions of access to care focus on primary and preventive health care services, our next two presentations will discuss strategies to improve access of specialty care after referral from a primary care provider. These include innovative use of technology to track referrals and outcomes, and formation of a multi-ethnic, multi-institutional coalition to improve access. Also discussed with be methodological issues in participatory community health planning, and describes steps in the development of a community-based strategic plan addressing access to specialty care.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be better able to: Identify key partners in collaborations to implement a community-based model to health care enhance access for the uninsured Recognize issues that influence access to specialty care in an underserved, urban population Describe innovative methods to engage communities in studies adhering to community-based participatory research principles

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing