A Health Disparities Lecture For Child And Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows

Introduction: Mental health disparities are prevalent among marginalized communities, and racism and discrimination are significant contributors. Nevertheless, health disparities education is lacking in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) fellowship programs. In response, this study offered a lecture and educational resources to CAP fellows and sought to measure their impact. Methods: A two-hour lecture was given to CAP fellows on mental health disparities, the history of racism in psychiatry, social determinants of health, structural competency, implicit bias, and immigrant health. A comprehensive resource list on health disparities, mental health, and race was provided to attendees. Anonymous pre- and post-lecture surveys were distributed to evaluate the impact of the lecture and were analyzed with a paired sample T-test. Results: Eleven fellows attended the lecture. Six participants completed both surveys. Pre-lecture survey respondents desired more learning about racism and health disparities (75%) and more resources to learn independently (88%). All respondents reported having a better understanding of health disparities and race after attending the lecture. There was also a statistically significant increase in how much learning participants reported receiving on the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) after the lecture (p<0.05). Discussion: This lecture helped fill a gap in CAP education related to racism and health disparities. However, future studies should include a larger and more diverse sample, and evaluate for downstream effects on patient care. Future directions include expansion of the lecture into a series, CFI practice opportunities, and greater distribution of the list of resources to encourage self-learning on health disparities.