Contact:
Jim Anderson, PA-C
206/341-4658
jeandrsn@u.washington.edu
Stephanie Matlock Maynor
703/836-2272, ext. 3501
smaynor@aapa.org
Seattle, Wash.—The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) recently launched “Heads Up!,” an
innovative awareness campaign aimed at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. For three
months, signage addressing the issue of health care disparities will be placed on University of Washington
Health Sciences Express shuttle buses. The buses are used by thousands of medical and health care
workers who travel daily between Seattle's University of Washington School of Medicine and its teaching
partner institution, Harborview Medical Center.
According to physician assistant Jim Anderson, chair of AAPA’s Committee on Diversity, the project is
among the first to address new evidence about the role of unconscious racial stereotyping in racial health
disparities. “Just a few months ago, Alexander Green, M.D., of the Disparities Solutions Center at
Massachusetts General, released a study that connects implicit and unconscious stereotyping with unequal
treatment of patients. It is one of the first studies to connect the dots on this issue,” said Anderson. Green
and the Disparities Solutions Center provided consultation and input on the awareness campaign.
The campaign consists of three bus signs, each of which addresses a different health disparities issue. The
signs will be displayed on a rotating basis for one month over the next three months. One sign features
photos of two males, one Caucasian and one African American, with the words: Chest Pain, Identical
Symptoms, Matching Histories: Which Patient Doesn't Get the Appropriate Tests?
This refers to data showing that patients of color are referred less frequently for advanced testing than are
white patients for similar cardiovascular problems. Anderson also noted that recent writings about the issue
of stereotyping and disparities in care offer some novel suggestions for ways to address and decrease
these problems. The awareness campaign uses some of those techniques. "Diana Burgess and Michelle
Van Ryn of the University of Minnesota proposed an intervention called priming. That's what this project
does, it puts basic information about unequal treatment before clinicians and allied health providers and
presupposes that racial gaps in care are based on unconscious stereotyping, not on conscious efforts,”
explained Anderson.
“We know that, as health care professionals, we all want the best for patients, but we also know that we
have to make complex decisions in a short period of time. Unconscious stereotyping fills in the gaps and
allows us to make these complex decisions quickly. Unfortunately, the stereotypes we all carry can lead to
unequal treatment." The goal of the project is to get health professionals and health professions students
thinking about these issues in a non-threatening way.
One of the goals of the project is to motivate viewers to provide feedback about the signs. Viewers are
asked to send comments to info@stop-disparities.org. "We hope viewers will look at the signs and find them
interesting and thought-provoking enough to go to a Web site set up for this project: www.stop-disparities.
org. There they will find a brief survey and a link to additional reading and resources about this issue.”
Anderson said, “We believe that just thinking about this issue — and hearing and seeing the data about it
— will help reduce racial disparities in care. And if this goes well, we hope that it will be used in other cities."
For additional information and to view samples of the bus posters, visit www.stop-disparities.org.
Physician assistants are licensed health professionals who practice medicine as members of a team with
their supervising physicians. PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse
populations in rural and urban settings. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct
physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care,
assist in surgery, and prescribe medications.
AAPA is the only national organization to represent physician assistants in all medical and surgical
specialties. Founded in 1968, the Academy works to promote quality, cost-effective health care and the
professional and personal growth of PAs. For more information about the Academy and the PA profession,
visit AAPA’s Web site, www.aapa.org.
Jim Anderson, PA-C
206/341-4658
jeandrsn@u.washington.edu
Stephanie Matlock Maynor
703/836-2272, ext. 3501
smaynor@aapa.org
Seattle, Wash.—The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) recently launched “Heads Up!,” an
innovative awareness campaign aimed at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. For three
months, signage addressing the issue of health care disparities will be placed on University of Washington
Health Sciences Express shuttle buses. The buses are used by thousands of medical and health care
workers who travel daily between Seattle's University of Washington School of Medicine and its teaching
partner institution, Harborview Medical Center.
According to physician assistant Jim Anderson, chair of AAPA’s Committee on Diversity, the project is
among the first to address new evidence about the role of unconscious racial stereotyping in racial health
disparities. “Just a few months ago, Alexander Green, M.D., of the Disparities Solutions Center at
Massachusetts General, released a study that connects implicit and unconscious stereotyping with unequal
treatment of patients. It is one of the first studies to connect the dots on this issue,” said Anderson. Green
and the Disparities Solutions Center provided consultation and input on the awareness campaign.
The campaign consists of three bus signs, each of which addresses a different health disparities issue. The
signs will be displayed on a rotating basis for one month over the next three months. One sign features
photos of two males, one Caucasian and one African American, with the words: Chest Pain, Identical
Symptoms, Matching Histories: Which Patient Doesn't Get the Appropriate Tests?
This refers to data showing that patients of color are referred less frequently for advanced testing than are
white patients for similar cardiovascular problems. Anderson also noted that recent writings about the issue
of stereotyping and disparities in care offer some novel suggestions for ways to address and decrease
these problems. The awareness campaign uses some of those techniques. "Diana Burgess and Michelle
Van Ryn of the University of Minnesota proposed an intervention called priming. That's what this project
does, it puts basic information about unequal treatment before clinicians and allied health providers and
presupposes that racial gaps in care are based on unconscious stereotyping, not on conscious efforts,”
explained Anderson.
“We know that, as health care professionals, we all want the best for patients, but we also know that we
have to make complex decisions in a short period of time. Unconscious stereotyping fills in the gaps and
allows us to make these complex decisions quickly. Unfortunately, the stereotypes we all carry can lead to
unequal treatment." The goal of the project is to get health professionals and health professions students
thinking about these issues in a non-threatening way.
One of the goals of the project is to motivate viewers to provide feedback about the signs. Viewers are
asked to send comments to info@stop-disparities.org. "We hope viewers will look at the signs and find them
interesting and thought-provoking enough to go to a Web site set up for this project: www.stop-disparities.
org. There they will find a brief survey and a link to additional reading and resources about this issue.”
Anderson said, “We believe that just thinking about this issue — and hearing and seeing the data about it
— will help reduce racial disparities in care. And if this goes well, we hope that it will be used in other cities."
For additional information and to view samples of the bus posters, visit www.stop-disparities.org.
Physician assistants are licensed health professionals who practice medicine as members of a team with
their supervising physicians. PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse
populations in rural and urban settings. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct
physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care,
assist in surgery, and prescribe medications.
AAPA is the only national organization to represent physician assistants in all medical and surgical
specialties. Founded in 1968, the Academy works to promote quality, cost-effective health care and the
professional and personal growth of PAs. For more information about the Academy and the PA profession,
visit AAPA’s Web site, www.aapa.org.
| American Academy of Physician Assistants Launches Campaign to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care |
For Immediate Release
November 1, 2007
November 1, 2007
