The Health Equity Journey: Civil Rights and Next Steps Toward
Preventing Bias, Discrimination, and Disparity

Civil rights are the cornerstone of American life, but equal rights do not guarantee equitable experiences, and health disparities persist in our society. This course will begin by covering the scope of civil rights protections for both your patients and you as a healthcare employee and then present an overlap with social determinants of health. Next, learners will explore specific examples of both illegal discrimination and damaging microaggressions before learning strategies to respond to both. Finally, implicit bias and its role in the perpetuation of health disparity will be unpacked, followed by next steps that individuals and organizations can take to begin to unbias and move toward health equity.

Course Objectives:
1) Define and differentiate civil rights in healthcare and employment
2) Highlight the relationship between civil rights and social determinants of health
3) Explore examples of illegal discrimination in healthcare
4) Explore examples of damaging microaggressions in healthcare
5) Recognize implicit bias and begin to address your personal biases
6) Identify next steps toward health equity at the individual and organizational levels
7) Examine strategies for responding to discrimination, including bystander intervention and reporting civil rights violations

This course was designed in alignment with the guidance from CMS and other accrediting agencies to make health equity a quality and safety priority, including Joint Commission Standard LD.04.03.08. It helps organizations and individuals meet the regulatory standards outlined in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Section 1557, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 18116.

Estimated Runtime: 25 minutes
Last Updated August 21, 2023
Publication Year: 2023

Reviewed and approved by
Bernadette Williams-York, PT, DSc

NOTE: This course is not a substitute for legal advice for any individual provider or situation. Always consult your company's legal or compliance personnel with any questions or concerns related to this subject matter.

This course is a refactored update to our previous course: Civil Rights & Preventing Discrimination in Healthcare.