How a Healthcare Website Reflects Diversity Term Paper

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Sloan Kettering Healthcare Website

The Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City is "the world's oldest and largest private cancer center" (About Us, 2016) and has a website that is accessible by all users. Its home page displays a series of alternating full-screen banner videos that rotate beneath a simple tab navigation system at the top of the page. The Center's logo appears in the top left-hand corner of the page and opposite it in the right-hand corner is another series of tab options: Giving -- Location -- Find a Doctor -- Appointments -- Contact Us -- followed by a search option. Below this is a Patient Login Access link in the main tool bar -- and in the same tool bar are the larger direct links for users, consisting of the following tabs: For Adult Patients -- For Child & Teen Patients -- For Healthcare Professionals -- For Research Scientists -- and More options. Each tab opens up an option to link directly to more precise locations on the website. For example, by scrolling over the For Child & Teen Patients tab, the options menu displays a Cancer Care directory, a Your Experience directory, an Our Location directory, and an Insurance & Assistance directory. Below this menu appears the easy-access links: Find a Doctor -- Make an Appointment -- Visitor Information -- and FAQ. The purpose of this assessment of the website is to view its display of diversity and how diversity is manifested on the website. The information described herein has explained the simple layout of the website. Now a more direct analysis of its adherence to a diversity theme can be explored.

First Contact

On first contact with the site, the initial video on the rolling screen features an African-American woman patient talking to a female physician, who pats the patient reassuringly on the shoulder and the African-American woman nods, closes her eyes and smiles. The video then rotates to one of a middle-aged white male happily finding the correct sample for his work. The third video depicts a younger white woman (though perhaps of mixed ethnicity) conducting a laboratory test using hi-tech equipment. The phrase that remains onscreen overtop each of the rotating videos is: "Specializing in You." The videos are the first hint that Sloan Kettering takes diversity seriously -- and the fact that three of the four human beings displayed are female, one of them a clear minority -- indicates that the facility specializes in serving minorities: thus it makes itself attractive to a diverse audience, which is no doubt key to its outreach success in a diverse city like New York.

To explore the extent to which the site supports diversity beyond this video recognition, it is necessary to use the search engine tool in the top right-hand corner of the toolbar. There is no direct link to diversity related materials otherwise. But by typing in the term "diversity" in the search engine, 1840 possible "hits" are returned, and the first one in the top ten search results is a link to the site's Office of Diversity Programs page.

The Office of Diversity Programs and Other Diversity "Hits"

When the Office of Diversity Programs link is clicked, it takes one to a page that describes the Office's purpose and activities. The full name of the Office is Memorial Sloan Kettering's Office of Diversity Programs in Clinical Care, Research, and Training (ODP) and it was created in 2005 in order "to address disparities in cancer outcomes based on race, ethnicity, cultural differences, and socioeconomic status" (Office of Diversity Programs, 2016). Disparities in research outcomes is a real issue that researchers have addressed in the past (Benjamins, Whitman, 2014; Browne, Varcoe, Wong, Smye, Khan, 2014; Grace, Kara, Kennedy, McDonald, 2014) -- so it is inspiring to see that Sloan Kettering has devoted a special Office to this exact issue and that it has been in operation for more than 10 years now. This is the clearest indication of all that Sloan Kettering is devoted to diversity in practice and not just in words and images. The idea that disparities exist in cancer outcomes in the various fields of race, ethnicity, culture and socioeconomic status is an important idea that should be explored so as to be able to provide the right kind of care for each specific type of individual; specialized focus on this area reveals that not all treatment methods work or are appropriate for individuals across the board. Indeed, Khankeh et al. (2015) have shown that conducting research on this exact issue is difficult because of the various social prejudices that are placed onto the aim by external forces, which view any type of specialized focus on race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status as a bias, when in actuality not focusing on these variables can be more detrimental to providing adequate care.

Other links related to the "diversity" search in the site reveal a page within the Immigrant Health & Cancer Disparities Service entitled "Increasing Diversity in Cancer Research," and a page within the Office of Diversity Programs entitle "Training," which explains Sloan Kettering's commitment to "institution-wide and program-specific minority recruitment initiatives, many of which are focused on developing the 'pipeline' of minority researchers and professionals in oncology" (Training, 2016).

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Numerous other links follow these search results and simply bear out the fact that the facility is highly devoted to the cause of diversity in healthcare.

The Site's Usefulness in Terms of Evaluating Its Dedication to Diversity

Thus, the site should be very useful to potential employees, customers and suppliers in terms of containing diversity information, as all the information contained in the site regarding diversity and the hospital's dedication to it is expressly related to the organization's business case, best illustrated by its Office of Diversity Programs and its "pipeline" policy of developing minority researchers/professionals in the field of oncology. Sloan Kettering puts its money where its mouth is, so to speak, and is not only helping diverse patients and customers but also helping minorities to grow within the healthcare industry and better represent their respective groups as a result. The fact that the diversity-related material on the site is all current, right down to the various research projects underway at the organization regarding diversity outcomes, indicates that Sloan Kettering is up-to-date and at the forefront of the issue of diversity in healthcare in numerous ways.

As a potential employee, I would be very excited about being a part of Sloan Kettering, as it appears to be fully committed to helping people of all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or age -- and this shows a true sign of healthcare that is rooted in caring. The website's clear usage of minorities in photos shows that it is very open to all professionals and its clear commitment to studying diversity indicates that diverse employees would be encouraged to apply for jobs within the organization. The website uses information, research articles, and programs and pictures to relate to the user of the website the fact that it is on board with diversity research, training, education and care -- and all of this should make a positive impact on diverse job applicants.

As a potential customer, I would also have a positive experience viewing the website, especially as the first video on the homepage shows a minority woman being counseled and comforted by her physician, who also is a woman. It indicates that there is a strong bond between caregivers and recipients and that no matter what the race/ethnicity/gender-relation between the two, a non-biased and welcoming approach will be taken to all patients and customers.

As a potential supplier or subcontractor, the same would ring true again: the website indicates a strong sense of familial dedication to all members of society, which is something that suppliers and subcontractors can utilize to build on their own business model ambitions, make connections, and facilitate new contacts and contracts with facilities like Sloan Kettering.

Management and Awards

The internal management issues that can affect the prominence that diversity gets or doesn't get on an organization's website are simple: prioritizing the manner in which the firm wants to project its image is the number one issue. If a firm is dedicated to appearing as a richly diverse institution that promotes diversity issues, it will take measures to be inclusive in visual ways -- as Sloan Kettering does with its homepage depiction of care between patient and physician. Other management issues relate to actual work aside from the projection of image and the importance of perception. Backing up the image with real work and data is necessary to keep the firm from coming across as empty and hollow in terms of its commitment to diversity. Sloan Kettering backs up its words with action in the Office of Diversity Programs.

The website does not list any diversity awards that the organization has received, though it does list numerous accolades and recognition from peers within the industry and it highlights….....

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