Although Connecticut achieves high ratings on many healthcare indicators, wide disparities by race and ethnicity dominate the state´s health care system, with White residents having better access to care and health outcomes compared to people of color.
In our new report, we analyze how closing these disparities has proven difficult in part because state agencies lack consistent, reliable data to identify community needs and evaluate innovations, with serious consequences both for the impacted communities and the state as a whole.
The report finds that despite widespread agreement on the importance of addressing racial and ethnic disparities in Connecticut, little actionable data on racial/ethnic health disparities is available, as data is dispersed among several agencies. The report recommends establishing a set of shared reporting guidelines for state agencies, as well as shared practices to improve data collection.
