Validated Assessment Tool for Measuring Healthcare Organizations’ Readiness to Address Structural Racism in Sepsis Care

Sepsis, a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to infection, affects nearly 2 million patients in the U.S. each year. It is one of the leading causes of mortality, responsible for approximately 270,000 deaths annually, and adds $62 billion to US healthcare costs every year.
Despite medical advancements, substantial racial disparities exist in sepsis care and outcomes. Black and Hispanic populations have a higher incidence of severe sepsis, higher rates of deviations from standard care, and complications compared to Non-Hispanic White populations. Despite overwhelming evidence that structural racism plays a critical role in driving sepsis inequities, there are no proven, evidence-based, prospective interventions to reverse this injustice. Our study, Champions Advancing Racial Equity in Sepsis (CARES), is changing that.

As part of the CARES study, we have developed a novel validated survey tool to assess domains of organizational culture hypothesized to be prerequisites for anti-racist work in sepsis care. This tool was presented at the Unite for Sight Global Health & Innovation Conference 2025.

• A Yale news article about the CARES study →
• A peer-reviewed manuscript outlining the CARES study rationale and methods →
• A full list of the CARES survey items by domain →
• The poster presented at the Unite for Sight Global Health & Innovation Conference 2025 →
  Suggested reference | Ouro-Sama H, Toraman Turk S, Cherlin E, Boatright D, Curry L, Linnander E. Validated assessment tool for measuring healthcare organizations’ readiness to address structural racism in sepsis care. Poster presented at: Unite For Sight’s 22nd Annual Global Health & Innovation Conference; April 26, 2025; North Haven, CT.
• The accompanying handout →