A study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that while white women have a higher incidence of breast cancer, Black women have a 41 percent higher mortality rate—perhaps because more Black women are diagnosed with regional- or distant-stage cancer (45 percent versus 35 percent). Out of every 100 breast-cancer diagnoses, Black women have nine more deaths (27 versus 18).

The report, Vital Signs: Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Severity, finds that the issue goes beyond genetics: Equity in healthcare access and the quality of that care are major contributors to breast-cancer prognoses.

“Breast-cancer death rates have been declining among U.S. women since 1990 because of early detection and advances in treatment; however, all racial groups have not benefited equally,” reads the report. “Black women experience inequities in breast-cancer screening, follow-up, and treatment after diagnosis, leading to greater mortality.”

Findings include:

• Only 62 percent of Black women start treatment within 30 days, compared with 82 percent of white women.
• Black women’s diagnosis-to-mammogram intervals are longer than white women, even when both individuals have the same insurance—20 percent of Black women had an interval of 60 days or more compared with 12 percent of white women.
• One study showed that equitable treatment could eliminate up to 19 percent of the mortality difference between Black and white women.

Eliminating Racial Disparities in Healthcare

“It’s a complex problem, but there are clearly avoidable components of this that we can address and resolve—the issues related to healthcare quality,” Dr. Marcus Plescia, Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the CDC and one of the report’s authors, told The New York Times. “It’s time to step forward and say that this disparity is unacceptable.”

University Hospitals CEO Thomas Zenty recently discussed the impact of diversity management and new healthcare reform laws with DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti, noting the growing need for hospitals and other providers to take a proactive approach to eliminating racial gaps in healthcare coverage. University Hospitals, based in Cleveland, is one of DiversityInc’s Top 5 Hospital Systems.

“Many studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between people of diverse backgrounds being willing to seek care and knowing that people who look like them will actually be providing that care. So the intersection between diversity and disparities is rather significant,” explains Zenty in the video below. “We want to make certain that we’re doing everything that we can to make sure that people of color will be able to work in our organization, hold positions of leadership—caregivers, clinicians and support staff.” Read this Q&A with University Hospitals CEO Thomas Zenty for more.

Eli Lilly and Company Chairman, President and CEO John Lechleiter, who also was interviewed, agrees. He notes that disparities in healthcare have become a global issue—and it’s up to industry corporations and care providers to take the lead in eliminating healthcare disparities.

“The importance of diversity as an underpinning of our business success today and for the future has become more clear to me and more evident,” he says. “Our business is shifting in terms of serving different populations and different segments of different populations, both here in the U.S. and in emerging markets. It’s brought me and the whole company a greater awareness of how different we are with respect to the way in which medicine is practiced, the way in which treatment is sought, the way in which people understand disease and approach therapy.” Read this Q&A with Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter for more. Eli Lilly and Company is No. 29 in the DiversityInc Top 50.

But how can hospitals deliver higher quality care, reduce readmissions and earn maximum HCAHPS reimbursements? What impact can diversity have on clinical trials and retail pharmacies? Get answers to these questions and more at our upcoming diversity event Culturally Competent Care: How Diversity Creates Better Patient Outcomes.

Also, read these articles for more on diversity in healthcare:

What Disease Hits Black Men Most?

Ask the White Guy: The Business Case for Diversity in Healthcare

Improving Healthcare for 68,000 Black & Latino Children

The post Black Women Have 41% Higher Risk of Dying of Breast Cancer appeared first on DiversityInc.

Winning the Race for Talent in Emerging Markets

By Douglas Ready, Linda Hill and Jay Conger, Harvard Business Review

Economic activity in emerging markets, like Brazil, Russia, India and China, is growing by leaps and bounds, but finding talent to keep up with that growth is extraordinarily challenging, according to an article in the Harvard Business Review. And companies in the developed world that try to export the talent strategies they use at home have abysmal results.

The authors interviewed executives at more than 20 global companies to identify strategies for attracting talent in developing economies, including where brand, opportunity, purpose and culture play out in particular ways.

The article notes that recruiters have to offer more than fat paychecks and a standard career path to find and keep employees in developing nations. “Emerging-market job candidates prize a company with a game-changing business model, where they can be part of redefining their nation and the world economy,” the authors write. “They are also attracted by a mission that focuses on helping the unfortunate—many have experienced poverty firsthand—and expresses the value of global citizenship.”

According to the article, a company’s culture matters in several distinct ways in emerging markets:

• Its “story,” or brand promise, has to feel authentic
• Employees must be rewarded for reasons of merit; a high potential from Brazil or Dubai must believe that the executive suite in China or the United Kingdom is within reach
• Although employees want to be recognized for individual achievements, they also want to feel a connection with their teams
• The culture has to be truly “talent-centric” so that people know they’re critical to the company’s success

“This war for talent is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” write the authors, who have spent decades studying talent management and leadership development.

Read Diversity Recruitment Research to access the links to the full reports and read excerpts from:

• “Diversity: An Ephemeral Concept” by Christian Hasenoehrl, Gallup Management Journal Online
• “How to Build the Right Board: Composition and Development” by Mary Helen Gillespie, Directorship
• “The Board’s Role in Developing a Diverse Leadership Team” by James W. Gauss and Howard T. Jessamy, Trustee
• “But Can S/He Lead? Market Assessments of Black Leadership in Corporate America” by Alison Cook and Christy Glass, Journal of Workplace Rights

The post Win the Talent War: Best Practices for Efficient Recruiting appeared first on DiversityInc.

Download the “Retirement Revealed” report.

Key findings include:

• Non-whites were more likely than whites to get their investment information and guidance from the Internet and media. Blacks (54 percent), Asians (53 percent) and Latinos (50 percent) indicated that the media and Internet were the primary sources of advice.
• Latino respondents were less focused on their future retirement goals; more than half (57 percent) have never calculated how much money they will need to continue their current lifestyle upon retirement.
• Just under half (41 percent) of respondents have virtually no emergency savings (one month’s worth or less). This increases to nearly half for Latinos (47 percent) and 50 percent for Blacks, while only 1 in 4 Asians have one month’s worth or less saved for emergencies. 
• More than 6 in 10 Blacks (63 percent) cite reducing debt as their most important short-term financial goal.
• Latinos are the most likely (57 percent) to want more education about investments and retirement options.
• Asians are the least likely to have a last will and testament (26 percent), compared with 31 percent for Latinos and 37 percent for white respondents.

The post Cultural Impacts on Retirement Planning appeared first on DiversityInc.

Made possible with a $210,000 award from the Aetna Foundation, Tour for Diversity in Medicine aims to provide college students of color with a wide range of information and advice to plan for careers in medicine and dentistry and ultimately diversify the health care profession. Although minority populations comprise more than 26 percent of the U.S. population, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans combined represent only about 6 percent of practicing physicians and 5 percent of dentists.

Alden Landry, M.D., an emergency room physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and co-director of Tour for Diversity in Medicine, said, “Our goal is to increase interest in health care as careers for students from minority populations and help them overcome perceived barriers to medical and dental school, such as high tuition costs, long training and a challenging application process. By offering workshops with established health care practitioners from similar backgrounds to theirs, we believe we can open the pipeline for talented young people of color who can make a significant difference in improving health care in the U.S.”

Landry noted that research has found that patients who receive care from physicians of the same race rate their medical visits as more satisfying and report being more engaged in their treatment than do patients who see physicians of other races.

Gillian Barclay, D.D.S., Dr.P.H., vice president of the Aetna Foundation, said, “As our nation’s population becomes increasingly diverse, we need health care providers who have the cultural competency to engage their patients fully with their treatment and ensure good health outcomes. Multiplying the number of men and women from underrepresented minorities is a fundamental strategy to achieving health equity in the United States. The Aetna Foundation is pleased to be the Tour’s founding sponsor and support this innovative initiative as part of our portfolio of programs aimed at developing health care leaders from underrepresented communities.”

The five stops for the inaugural Tour for Diversity in Medicine will be:

• Monday, February 20 Hampton University, Hampton, Va.
• Tuesday, February 21 Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C.
• Wednesday, February 22 South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, S.C.
• Thursday, February 23 Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Ala.
• Friday, February 24 Jackson State University, Jackson, Miss.

At each school, about 150 students are expected to participate in the full-day program. Session topics range from the application process and admissions tests to choosing the right specialty to an overview of health disparities. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the presenting physicians, dentists and medical students and hear their stories about how they overcame obstacles to pursue a career as a health care professional.

“Without the assistance of mentors over the years, I would not be a doctor today,” said Kameron Matthews, M.D., J.D., co-director of the Tour for Diversity in Medicine and a family physician in Chicago. “We want to connect students with physicians and dentists who are dedicated to their growth and their future.”

Planning is already underway for two more tours, one in fall 2012 to colleges with large Latino populations and another in spring 2013 to colleges with significant Native American populations.

Landry, Matthews and other health care providers on the Tour for Diversity in Medicine plan to blog, tweet and use other forms of social media on their weeklong February trip to the HBCUs. People are invited to follow on Facebook and on Twitter @Tour4Diversity or visit tour4diversity.org.

The Aetna Foundation supports multiple programs to create a diverse group of health care leaders from today’s young people, including the AcademyHealth/Aetna Foundation Minority Scholars Program, Four Directions Summer Research Program, the Aetna Foundation/National Medical Fellowships Healthcare Leadership Program and the National Academy Foundation.

About the Aetna Foundation

The Aetna Foundation, Inc. is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed $394 million in grants and sponsorships, including $15.6 million in 2010. As a national health foundation, we promote wellness, health, and access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have volunteered more than 2.3 million hours since 2003. Our current giving is focused on addressing the rising rate of adult and childhood obesity in the U.S.; promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care; and advancing integrated health care. For more information, visit www.AetnaFoundation.org.

About Tour for Diversity in Medicine

The Tour for Diversity in Medicine (TDM), a project of Hip Hop Health Inc., seeks to educate inspire and cultivate future physicians of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds by forming local connections in order to fulfill a national need. Conceived by former medical student leaders, TDM will bring premedical enrichment activities to underrepresented minority undergraduate students in order to assist with the diversification of the health professions workforce. TDM is a grassroots effort, with its inaugural tour in February 2012 across five Southern states. Visit tour4diversity.org for more information.

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