The American Heart Association (AHA) and Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) have announced the winners of a six-month data challenge focused on the impact health disparities, social determinants of health and structural determinants of health have on heart failure patients.
All participating research groups had access to the AHA’s Get with the Guidelines – Heart Failure data registry through its cloud-based, AI-powered Accelerate Precision Medicine platform.
“Improving our understanding of how social determinants of health impact certain populations in order to develop consequential targeted solutions requires harmonization of different types of data,” AHA President Michelle A. Albert, MD, MPH, chair of cardiology and a professor at the University of California at San Francisco, said in a prepared statement. “These teams must be commended for their efforts at addressing health equity, one of the most pressing areas in healthcare.”
“These types of data challenge projects provide much-needed insights into the relationships between heart failure and social determinants of health,” added Jennifer Hall, PhD, the AHA’s chief of data science. “Data challenges bring in top level scientists that provide novel and effective solutions.”
The winning teams included:
Grand prize: “Impact of Social and Structural Determinants of Health on Hospital Length of Stay Among Heart Failure Patients According to Race,” a study led by Ambarish Pandey, MD, with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Second place: “Neighborhood Disadvantage and Risk of Heart Failure Among Black and White Adults: The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study,” a study led by Gargya Malla, MD, MPH, PhD, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Third place (tie): “The Effect of Socioeconomic Determinants of Health on the Prescription of Angiotensin Receptor Blocker/Neprilysin Inhibitors at Discharge from the Hospital,” a study led by Jeffrey Tran, MD, and Nancy Sweitzer, MD, PhD, with the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in Tucson.
“In-Hospital Outcome Differences in Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure Across Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines - Heart Failure Registry,” a study led by Vishal Rao, MD, MPH, with the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and Melissa Caughey, PhD, with the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
These studies are all currently under consideration to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Full findings are not yet available to the public.
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.