Hospital diversity management programs: community diversity factors and patient experience outcomes

Purpose This study explores how hospital diversity management programs (DMPs) associate with hospital operations performance outcomes. We consider the interplay between staff diversity programs, community demographics and hospital patient experience metrics. Design/methodology/approach The study reviewed literature on effects of patient and healthcare workforce diversity on patients and employees. We analyzed panel data merged from the American Hospital Association (AHA), the United States Census Bureau, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). We examined how DMPs associate with hospital patient experiences. Findings The findings reveal DMPs are significantly associated with several patient experience metrics. Interactions between DMPs and county diversity are often positive and significant. Robustness runs suggest a slightly lower marginal payback to DMPs when a county's diversity is above its state's median diversity. Originality/value This study is among the first healthcare OM research to conceptualize the DMP notion and to empirically analyze longitudinal associations of DMPs with patient experience metrics. The findings inform researchers and administrators, addressing ongoing contemporary discussions surrounding organizational diversity management. DMP empirical findings help to build realistic administrator expectations about the benefits of DMP efforts.