PRIME® Study on Real-World Racial Disparities in Multiple Myeloma Care Wins Prestigious William Campbell Felch Award

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions has named PRIME® the winner of 2021 William Campbell Felch Award for Outstanding Research in Continuing Education (CE) at its annual meeting. This marks the third time PRIME has won the award in the last five years.

The award-winning implementation science program focuses on health equity in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, which aligns with the American Society of Clinical Oncology new recommendations urging stakeholders to address structural barriers responsible for disparate cancer outcomes. Support for the award-winning project was provided to PRIME through educational grants from AbbVie, Inc. and Celgene Corporation / Bristol-Myers Squibb.

With this program, PRIME sets a new industry standard for equity-focused implementation science initiatives, offering the wider CE community a framework for conducting racial disparities projects.

PRIME developed a multicomponent initiative to assess and address the root causes of racial disparities in care delivery among patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma at two health systems, a large public hospital system and an academic medical center. In the study, more than 1 in 5 patients reported that their doctor treated them differently because of their race. Furthermore, patients and providers differed significantly in their perceptions of key barriers influencing myeloma care, including patients' ability to get the best care because of their race/ethnic background. This ongoing initiative highlights critical discordances between patients and their providers in beliefs about racial disparities that adversely affect multiple myeloma care. Following the educational intervention, providers achieved significant gains in confidence in the delivery of equitable patient-centered care and committed to providing a more welcoming environment for all patients, improving communication, and encouraging shared decision making regarding myeloma care.

"There is an urgent crisis in our nation as individuals struggle for equitable access to care and health resources. This initiative demonstrates how high quality medical education can be a scalable and sustainable catalyst for change to address this critical issue and help mitigate racial disparities in cancer care that jeopardize health outcomes. We are honored that this important work has been recognized by the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions through the prestigious Felch award," says Cherilyn Heggen, PhD, Vice President, Scientific Affairs at PRIME.

About PRIME®: PRIME is a leading research and medical education company that advances the science of learning and behavior change among providers, patients, payers, and health ecosystems to improve competency, performance, and quality health outcomes. PRIME addresses gaps responsible for variations in care by leveraging real-world data, the latest clinical evidence, and innovative learning models to invoke positive change in health and wellness at the individual, system, and community levels. The scalable and sustainable solutions PRIME delivers have measurably improved patient care for over 27 years.

SOURCE Prime Education