Equitable Access to Liver Transplant: Bridging the Gaps in the Social Determinants of Health

Hepatology. 2021 Nov;74(5):2808-2812. doi: 10.1002/hep.31986. Epub 2021 Jul 13.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and social justice movement have highlighted the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) and structural racism in the United States on both access to care and patient outcomes. With the evaluation for liver transplantation being a highly subjective process, there are multiple ways for SDOH to place vulnerable patients at a disadvantage. This policy corner focuses on three different methods to reverse the deleterious effects of SDOH-identify and reduce implicit bias, expand and optimize telemedicine, and improve community outreach.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Health Equity / organization & administration*
  • Health Services Accessibility / standards
  • Healthcare Disparities / ethnology
  • Humans
  • Liver Diseases / ethnology
  • Liver Diseases / surgery
  • Liver Transplantation* / methods
  • Liver Transplantation* / standards
  • Policy Making
  • Public Health / standards
  • Quality Improvement
  • Racism / prevention & control*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Social Determinants of Health / ethnology*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Telemedicine / methods*
  • United States / epidemiology