UBC/EQUIP: emergency‑department intervention cut patients leaving before care finished; Equity Action Kit now available
Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the EQUIP team tested an equity‑focused intervention across three BC emergency departments. The site with the most robust activities saw a significant drop in patients leaving before completing care. The team released a free Equity Action Kit and online courses to help other health settings implement the approach.
UBC researchers and the EQUIP Health Care team studied nearly 1,700 ED patients across three British Columbia sites and developed an intervention emphasizing trauma‑ and violence‑informed care, cultural safety/antiracism and substance‑use health. Two EDs implemented strategies despite pandemic and overdose‑related pressures; the most comprehensive implementation significantly reduced patients who left before care completion. The project publishes an Equity Action Kit with step‑by‑step tools, evaluation resources and free online courses (English, with some French materials) to support adoption in other care settings.
Read the original story · Université de la Colombie-Britannique — https://news.ubc.ca/2026/11/people-who-rely-most-on-emergency-departments-often-leave-without-care-heres-why-and-what-can-be-done/