Racial disparities in health care are long-standing and well documented: for decades, research has shown gaps in the quality, access and safety of care received by people of colour compared with their white counterparts. Reducing Racial Disparities in Health Care examines those inequities directly, looking at their causes and at what organisations can do to close them through better data, organisational change and equitable practice.
This is an official Harvard Online course, offered in partnership with the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and featuring faculty from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It is delivered on Harvard Online's learning platform. IPMC International handles your registration, payment and local support, then enrols you on the course. The format is self-guided within a scheduled cohort, and the Certificate of Completion is issued by Harvard Online.
The course develops three connected capabilities:
The programme is taught through real case studies across five modules. It begins with history (Module 1), builds the foundations of the work (Modules 2–4) and closes with emerging topics (Module 5). There are no prerequisites. To earn the Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online, participants complete all five modules, including the associated quizzes, by the stated deadlines.
Understand how structural racism and discrimination (SRD) has shaped the U.S. health-care system, and how the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) explain current disparities. Perform a 5 Whys analysis and create a plan to listen to the communities your organisation serves.
See how Nemours Children's Hospital Delaware, Tufts Health Plan and Mass General Brigham applied the 8-Step Kotter Model. Use it to lead organisational change, run an organisational assessment, and build an action plan to initiate and sustain change.
Analyse Mass General Brigham's best practices for standardised data collection. Understand minimum standards for race, ethnicity and language preference (REaL) data, address the challenges of collecting it, and develop a plan using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle.
Understand why measuring and monitoring data matters, assess the tools needed to report on it, and use data to drive action. Identify disparities in your own organisation and develop steps to address them.
Examine immigrant-health disparities and a framework for improving care for immigrant populations, and explore virtual care and health-care pathways for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH: Your instructor. President of the Commonwealth Fund and founder of the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a nationally and internationally recognised expert in health policy, health-care disparities, diversity and cross-cultural medicine.
Aswita Tan-McGrory, MBA, MSPH: Your instructor. Director of the Disparities Solutions Center and Director of Equity in Care Implementation at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she leads work to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care.
Learners also hear from industry experts, including Mitchell Kellaway (Program Manager for Data Accuracy, Mass General Brigham), Alvin Powell, MD (Vice President of Clinical Care, Health Equity at Cone Health) and Altaf Saadi, MD (Associate Director at the Mass General Asylum Clinic). Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.
This introductory course is designed for everyone who works in health care, from frontline staff to executives and board members, across health-care organisations, government, non-profits and education. It's ideal for professionals, graduates and organisations who want a globally recognised Harvard Online credential to advance their careers or capabilities.
On successful completion you receive a digital Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online. No letter grades are assigned; participation is evaluated on a complete/incomplete basis. Once earned, you can add it to your CV and LinkedIn. For example, under LinkedIn "Licenses & Certifications" list Harvard Online as the issuing organisation and the certificate for Reducing Racial Disparities in Health Care as the credential.
The course fee is confirmed on enquiry and put in writing before payment.
Pay IPMC securely by debit/credit card in UAE Dirhams (UAE) or by UPI, card or net banking in Indian Rupees (India).
Yes. The course is delivered by Harvard Online, in partnership with the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Certificate of Completion is issued by Harvard Online.
No. This is an introductory course with no required prior knowledge. You need only be at least 18 and comfortable learning in English.
You complete all five modules and their quizzes thoughtfully by the stated deadlines and contribute to discussions on the platform. You can set your own daily or weekly pace within the cohort. No letter grades are given; your work is assessed on a complete or incomplete basis.
After the final deadline, coursework is reviewed and, once eligibility is confirmed, your certificate is delivered by email. You keep access to the course materials for 60 days after the final deadline, and can download a summary of key concepts to keep.
This course runs as a scheduled Harvard Online cohort. The next cohort starts 26 Aug 2026. Contact us to reserve your place.
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