Disparities

Healthy Metric Releases Mental Health Disparities Report

Healthy Metric is a collaboration between and funded by the Wisconsin Partnership program and the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin. Together, they are working to eliminate health disparities in Wisconsin through collaboration, measurement, and interventions. Their partners in this work are the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality, the Wisconsin Health Information Organization and Marshfield Clinic Research.

In June of 2023, Healthy Metric released “Disparities in Mental Health Care and Outcomes: A Healthy Metric 2023 Report for Wisconsin." This report identifies gaps in mental health screening, diagnoses, and telehealth utilization across various demographics, including race and ethnicity, rural and urban geography, insurance type, and age. The data used in the report were sourced from health system data submitted to the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) in 2021 and claims data from the Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO) spanning 2019 to 2021.

Read 2023 Disparities Report >>

Read 2020 News Release >>

View Infographic, Concluding Results of the 2020 Report [PDF Download]

View Infographic, Concluding Results of the 2019 Report [PDF Download]

Read the 2020 Report [PDF Download]

Read the 2019 Report [PDF Download]

Report Overview

Front cover of the 2020 WCHQ Health Disparities Report

Widespread disparities exist in health outcomes and care in Wisconsin. Although Wisconsin ranks high in overall health care nationally, the state performs poorly with respect to disparities.

The Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) and its member organizations developed the Wisconsin Health Disparities Reports to identify where disparities in health outcomes and care exist In Wisconsin and to help inform and accelerate programs that are working to eliminate disparities. WCHQ hopes that by identifying and publicly reporting these differences, this report will draw attention to and promote public accountability, improvement and action by multiple stakeholders.

The 2019 health disparities report identifies gaps in care related to ethnicity/race, payer and geography. The 2020 report identifies where disparities in health outcomes and care exist in rural and urban areas in Wisconsin by using a unique categorization system developed by investigators at the University of Wisconsin Health Innovation Program (HIP).

Infographic of 2019 Wisconsin Health Disparities Report


Eliminating health disparities is a task that cannot be done by health systems alone or accomplished in silos. This report can contribute to the identification of opportunities for health systems, health departments, policymakers, nonprofits and employers to develop collaborative approaches within their communities to create a healthier Wisconsin for all.

Appendix Overview

The 2020 Appendix contains detailed methodology, measure definitions for all WCHQ measures, and tables including performance and denominator data for all measures stratified by the new and distinct rural and urban groupings.

The 2019 Appendix contains detailed methodology, measure definitions for all WCHQ measures, and tables including performance and denominator data for all measures stratified by race/ethnicity, payer and rural/urban residence.

To read the 2019 or 2020 report Appendices, click here and select View 2019 Appendix or View 2020 Appendix at the top of the page.

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Organizations


Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality
The Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) publicly reports and brings meaning to performance measurement information that improves the quality and affordability of health care in Wisconsin, in turn improving the health of individuals and communities. WCHQ is the primary author of the Wisconsin Health Disparities Report.

Health Innovation Program
The University of Wisconsin Health Innovation Program (HIP) is a research program based within the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine and Public Health. HIP’s mission is to transform health care delivery and population health across the state and nation through health systems research that partners UW faculty with health care and community organizations. HIP staff collaborated with WCHQ on development of the Wisconsin Health Disparities Report.

Wisconsin Partnership Program
The Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) was established at the School of Medicine and Public Health in 2004 through a generous and visionary endowment gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin’s conversion to a stock insurance corporation. Its mission is to improve the public health needs of Wisconsin and reduce health disparities through initiatives in research, education and community partnerships. The Wisconsin Health Disparities Report was funded by WPP through a grant to HIP and WCHQ.

Citation
2020 Report:  Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality and the University of Wisconsin Health Innovation Program. Wisconsin Health Disparities Report: Rural and Urban Populations, 2020.

2019 Report:  Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality and the University of Wisconsin Health Innovation Program. Wisconsin Health Disparities Report, 2019, Appendix.