Prioritize Root Causes
What does it mean to prioritize root causes and why is it important?
Root cause analyses will reveal multiple underlying causes of a health inequity. Prioritizing the root causes for intervention is a critical next step because it is highly unlikely that any organization or collaborative can address all of them at once. Focusing on the most impactful and feasible causes keeps your efforts strategic and sustainable.
Prioritization helps your team maximize impact by targeting the most significant drivers of inequity; use resources efficiently by weighing feasibility and readiness; and build momentum through quick wins while advancing long-term, structural change. When done collaboratively, prioritization also aligns stakeholders, secures leadership buy-in, and creates a realistic roadmap for implementation.
When should I prioritize root causes?
Prioritize root causes immediately after diagnosing them to keep your team focused on the most critical and actionable areas. Consider re-prioritizing root causes in the future when competing priorities risk stalling health equity initiatives, or when new opportunities — such as policy changes or funding availability — make previously low-feasibility causes more attainable.
The chart below details the steps to take in prioritizing root causes as well as the approximate number of meetings for which to plan.
| Key Activities | Est. Time: ~ 7+ Hours |
|---|---|
| Analyze the importance of addressing each of the root causes discovered in the root cause analysis | 1-3 one-hour meetings |
| Analyze the feasibility of addressing each of the root causes discovered in the root cause analysis | 1-3 one-hour mtgs |
| Plot root causes on a priority matrix | 1 one-hour mtgs |
| Select root causes to prioritize that are both very important and very feasible * Consider selecting 1-2 root causes that are less important, but very feasible in order to achieve “quick wins” for your health equity initiative. | 1-2 one-hour mtgs |
| Present prioritized root causes to each stakeholder group for review and feedback. Adjust as necessary. | 3-5 one-hour mtgs |
How should I prioritize root causes?
Use the Prioritize Root Causes presentation to guide your team in selecting which root causes to address. It covers key equity and SDOH concepts; distinguishes between individual social needs and systemic drivers explaining why addressing those needs and drivers might not reduce inequities; and walks through a priority matrix to evaluate root causes by importance and feasibility. Using the presentation as a guide, work as a team to create a priority matrix to help determine where to focus your care and payment model redesign efforts, while reinforcing community involvement and equity-centered decision-making. Taking the time to complete a priority matrix is always important, and even more so when resources are limited and teams must be strategic about where to invest and when stakeholders need alignment on what to address first.
Resources to Prioritize Root Causes
Prioritize Root Causes (Presentation)
Presents strategies for selecting which root causes of health inequities to address after completing a Root Cause Analysis, using a priority matrix to evaluate each cause by importance and feasibility. It also reviews key equity concepts essential for the task — including the distinction between SDOH and health equity — and emphasizes the importance of community involvement throughout the prioritization process.
Assessing Root Causes Prioritization
Use this resource to aid you team in:
- Reprioritizing Root Causes
- Improving Participation in Root Cause Prioritization
About the Roadmap Goal and Objective Setting Tool
Use the Roadmap Goal and Objective Setting tool to facilitate and document the development, implementation, and evaluation phases of your health equity initiative. It will help your team realize your vision to reduce and eliminate health and healthcare inequities by providing a centralized resource to:
- establish process goals that align with each Roadmap component;
- document task status, identify project champions, and maintain detailed notes;
- monitor progress across multiple Roadmap components simultaneously; and
- promote consistent team communication, accountability, and progress.