Measuring Health Equity in Pediatric Cardiac Patient Outcomes at LPCH
Presentation at the 2022 annual SURF Gala
Health equity has direct impacts on pediatric cardiac patient outcomes in hospital-settings, yet there is no clear or quantifiable way to measure it. Our aim was to determine the best metrics to measure patient outcomes and develop a health equity analysis tool to measure impact of future projects. This was done through a three-step process. First, we surveyed providers, administrators, and other stakeholders to generate metric ideas. Next, we utilized PAC3 and PC4 Arbormetrics databases to note comparisons across institutions for these metrics. Finally, we used Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) cardiac surgical data from 2017-2022 to determine metrics with statistical significance between groups of various demographic factors with standardization by STAT score and procedure type. Final metrics included postoperative length of stay, 30-day readmission rate, failure-to-rescue rate, and hospital acquired complications. These were compared across race, ethnicity, Degauss scored socioeconomic status, and insurance type. Utilizing these metrics, LPCH and related hospitals can efficiently note disparities in cardiac care and develop targeted solutions to minimize them.
Anna Harmeling
B.S. Candidate in Management Science & Engineering
M.S. Candidate in Community Health & Prevention Research
Michael Leonard, 2LT, USAF
B.S. in Operations Research, United States Air Force Academy
M.S. Candidate in Management Science & Engineering
Founder & Director, SURF Stanford Medicine