Family medicine resident sociocultural education using health equity

Background : The milestone project across multiple medical specialties calls for resident attention to sociocultural factors that affect health outcomes. Despite the long-standing reality of disparate health outcomes, there are few well-described approaches for teaching such topics to medical resident physicians. Objectives : This case study reflects a quality improvement process aimed at establishing a meaningful sociocultural curriculum for our family medicine residents. Methods : The Family Medicine Residency at New Hanover Regional Medical Center is a 6-6-6 community-based program with previous limited formal sociocultural training. In 2017, programming related to cultural diversity was mixed into resident educational time over a single four-week period. Qualitative feedback from that effort helped guide the development of a more robust and intentional longitudinal year-long health equity curricular approach in 2018, based on didactics and experiential learning. Self-reported quantitative data on resident knowledge and ability were reviewed to evaluate that curriculum. Results : 18 of 18 residents (100%) were exposed yearly to sociocultural education over two academic years (2017-2019). Qualitative feedback in year one suggested mixed uptake of the topics. Data from the updated year two longitudinal approach revealed significant improvements in resident knowledge about, and ability to apply, health equity topics. Conclusion : Our case study suggests that a longitudinal curriculum with opportunities for concept application to health equity can impact residents’ sociocultural knowledge and skills. The success at our program also holds promise for other small community-based programs that may be short on time and/or resources.