Race & Ethnicity

Race and ethnicity minority groups don't always receive the same access to or quality of healthcare, which leads to avoidable health inequities.

Greater resolution of data collection practices can help:

• Identify health inequities in subpopulations

• Guide development of culturally specific and accessible services

• Guide equitable allocation of resources to address inequities

Phrasing for START's race and ethnicity questions, as well as rationale and wording, can be found in the attached document.

Core resources:

• Oregon's Race and Ethnicity Implementation (via REALD) - A validated instrument from Oregon Health Authority's Office of Equity and Inclusion that has been adopted by the state of Oregon and its public health agencies.
  
  REALD is a type of demographic information, like age, marital status, employment and more. REALD stands for the types of information it includes: 

  • Race

  • Ethnicity

  • Language

  • Disability

In 2020, the Oregon legislature passed a law that requires health care providers to:

• Collect REALD information at health care visits related to COVID-19, and

• Share this information with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).