"Disadvantaged patient populations": A theory-informed education needs assessment in an urban teaching hospital.

Background: Recent calls in medical education and health care emphasize equitable care for disadvantaged patient populations (DPP), with education highlighted as a key mechanism toward this goal. As a first step in understanding potential education needs we wanted to better understand the DPP concept.

Methods: Framed as a critical needs assessment, we used a critical discourse analysis approach to explore the meanings and effects of DPP.