To help medical schools determine what sort of cultural competency training is included in their curricula, the Fund provided support to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for the development of a self assessment instrument—the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competency Training (TACCT). The project has generated considerable interest in the academic community. Several medical schools and residency programs have requested the instrument for pilot-testing. Members of AAMC's Group on Student Affairs, Minority Affairs Section, meanwhile, have indicated that they will serve as advisors and "champions" for TACCT as it is used at each medical school. The tool is now being used on a trial basis at a number of medical schools, and the New York Academy of Medicine, Affiliated Medical Schools of New York, and AAMC will be testing TACCT at all New York State medical schools.

A prelude to eliminating disparities is raising awareness of the issue and identifying effective methods for improving care for underserved patients. A project led by John McDonough, executive director of Health Care For All, a Massachusetts consumer organization, highlighted disparity-reduction efforts planned or under way at the state level.⁽¹⁸⁾ After learning about McDonough's work, the New England Coalition for Health Equity announced it will sponsor a symposium, built around his findings, to develop priorities for development of the infrastructure and capacity necessary to address health disparities in each of the six New England states. At the national level, Ruth Perot of the Summit Health Institute for Research and Education convened a meeting of minority health experts from around the country and developed a national policy agenda for eliminating health disparities in communities of color; the agenda will serve as the basis for a planned congressional briefing.

The Fund also supported the production of Worlds Apart, a film that follows four patients of different cultural backgrounds as they interact with the medical system.⁽¹⁹⁾ The film, by Maren Grainger-Monsen, M.D., and Julia Haslett, has exerted a powerful influence on medical training and minority health care since its release in February 2004. A winner of several prestigious awards, the film and its powerful lessons are now being used by 24 medical schools, 31 residency programs and medical centers, and 86 colleges and universities, as well as libraries and other health-related educational institutions nationwide. The Joint Committee on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations also is using Worlds Apart for internal staff training on cultural competency issues. And, after viewing Worlds Apart and studying disparities data, the United Network of Organ Sharing's board of directors voted to increase minority access to kidney transplants by revising allocation priority for tissue matching—an extraordinary policy change that will allow more than 200 additional kidney transplants annually for minority patients.