Investigating Health Disparities:
A 2024 NYSBHF Data Hub Project
ABOUT
In 2023, the NYSBHF launched a special project to investigate Health Disparities among students seeking care in New York’s SBHCs. It is important to identify and explore health disparities in our work, as these differences may represent health inequities that can be addressed and remediated through action.
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Health Disparities: Population-based differences in health outcomes.[1]
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Health Inequities: Differences in health outcomes and the opportunities groups have to achieve optimal health that are rooted in avoidable, unjust and unfair social and structural systems.[1]
This collaborative initiative, supported by the New York Health Foundation (NYHF) and other funders, involved gathering and analyzing data from New York SBHCs to uncover disparities in access to SBHCs and utilization of SBHC services across race, ethnicity, insurance status, and across rural or urban communities.
Participating Sponsoring Organizations (SOs) received an individualized disparities report based on data for the clinic(s) they sponsor and were given support and assistance in developing an action plan to further understand and address the differences observed through this project.
Goal: Through the NYSBHF Data Hub, to increase access to information about health disparities among students seeking care at SBHCs.
Expected Outcomes:
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To establish the prevalence of common and serious chronic & behavioral health conditions
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To sort this data by race, ethnicity, & economic status to assess disparities in the distribution of these conditions
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To identify disparities in care received, using recognized standards of practice & measures of care quality developed by state and national organizations
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To discuss findings at meetings of the Data Hub User Group, to develop plans for possible remediation of disparities, and disseminate findings to interested stakeholders and partners
Process & Findings
The NYSBHF worked with our vendor Apex Evaluation to determine indicators and design the Disparities Analysis Reports (sample below). Apex then pulled data for each sponsoring organization and statewide and shared details with individual SOs to review for inaccuracies and confirmation.
Over several Data Hub User Group meetings, NYSBHF and Apex met with SO representatives to explore the data and identify disparities and then work to develop action step to address disparities or inequities. To better guide the conversation, NYSBHF created Disparities Action Plan templates which were “beta-tested” with select Sponsoring Organization. We then hosted workshops with breakout “team time” to review disparities reports and data quality reports and support organizations in designing their individual action plans.
Themes were varied across SOs, but many organizations saw areas for improvement or further exploration.
The NYSBHF continues to work with SOs on their Disparities Action Plans and Data Quality Action Plans. We are also finalizing the aggregate statewide disparities report and preparing to present the findings at the New York School-Based Health Alliance conference in March 2025 and at the National School-Based Health Alliance’s annual conference in June 2025.
Sample Disparities Analysis
Addressing Disparities through School-Based Health Centers Webinar Recording
On December 18th, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) hosted a discussion about school-based health centers (SBHCs) as a resource for addressing health disparities in underserved communities. Lisa Perry, NYSBHF Director, shared key insights from our Data Hub, specifically looking at how we’ve used SBHC data to analyze racial, ethnic, and insurance disparities at the local and statewide level. Adria Cruz, Deputy Director of Health Programs & Integration at Children’s Aid (and NYSBHF Board Member), and Sarah Murphy, Executive Director of the New York School-Based Health Alliance, also shared vital information on how SBHCs can address health disparities and the policy changes shaping the future of school-based health services.
1. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (n.d.). (rep.). Race to Justice Language Use Guide. Retrieved December 9, 2024, from https://www.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/dpho/race-to-justice-action-kit-language-use-guide.pdf
