According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), health disparities refers to a population-specific difference in the presence of disease, health outcomes, quality of health care and access to health care services—that exist across racial and ethnic groups (NCSL,2011). Health disparities remain a major concern in America and it is like a virus that is damaging the progress towards healthcare equality. Some of the major factors are unequal social class, unequal economic opportunity and poor physical and environmental conditions. Furthermore, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and geographical locations also play a role in health disparities. Many of the people impacted by health disparities are minorities who represent 34.5% of the U.S population according to the 2010 U.S Census Bureau estimate. Despite the high population of minorities, some minority groups like Blacks American, American Indians and Alaska Natives had been reported to have poor health outcomes due to the health barriers and biases (Artiga, 2016). Blacks, American Indians and Alaska Natives have a higher prevalence of asthma, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than the general population of people with these conditions. …show more content…
In regards to the gender factor in health disparities, we see both genders being treated unfairly. Since the struggle for women rights in America, we have successfully seen a decrease in income gap between men and women. Everyone has some protected rights under the law despite their gender. However, women have not fully been granted autonomy over their body and their healthcare choices. About fifty percent of female adolescents in America do not have autonomy under the law to access reproductive healthcare services that address and prevent some of the negative consequences associated with adolescents (Gretchen,
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Show MoreHealth disparity is one of the burdens that contributes to our healthcare system in providing equal healthcare to everyone regarding of race, age, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status to achieve good health. Research reveals that racial and ethnic minorities are likely to receive lower quality of healthcare services than white Americans.
Healthcare disparities are when there are inequalities or differences of the conditions of health and the quality of care that is received among specific groups of people such as African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, or Hispanics. Not only does it occur between racial and ethnic groups, health disparities can happen between males and females as well. Minorities have the worst healthcare outcomes, higher death rates, and are more prone to terminal diseases. For African American men and women, some of the most common health disparities are diabetes, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and HIV infections. Some factors that can contribute to disparities are healthcare access, transportation, specialist referrals, and non-effective communication with patients. There is also much racism that still occurs today, which can be another reason African Americans may be mistreated with their healthcare. “Although both black and white patients tended not to endorse the existence of racism in the medical system, African Americans patients were more likely to perceive racism” (Laveist, Nickerson, Bowie, 2000). Over the years, the health care system has made improvements but some Americans, such as African Americans, are still being treating unequally when wanting the same care they desire as everyone else.
Therefore, considering these issues is an impediment when discussing the disparities in health. Some minorities are disadvantaged in the current healthcare while some are not. However, it is complicated to identify reasons for inequalities because health outcome is a result of numerous interactions with factors including the individual’s access to care, the quality of care provided, health behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, the presence or absence of complicating conditions, and personal attitudes toward health and medicine. Therefore, Examining existing racial and ethnic issues, developing potential solutions for current disparities, and preparing for future challenges as shifts in trends emerge are essential aspects of health care improvements” (Boslaugh,
No citizen shale ever be ignored no matter their race, state of health, or class. In the US “barriers generally stem from forces within the organizational environment of the health care delivery system or within the broader social system itself” (Barr, 2011, p. 273). This is why health policy scholars need to study health disparities so that equal care can ultimately be reached. Currently some disparities that are obvious in society are unequal dispersion and quality of care between racial groups, genders, and those with low middle class income. The health care system needs to be fixed and in order for that to happen health scholars must study better procedures so that the best possible outcome can be reached for the American
People of color face inequality and intersectionality in healthcare whether through insurance coverage, access, social economics, and quality of care. This leads to our health care system having disparities. It remains a big challenge today as 41% of people living in the United States are people of color (kff.org). People of color aren't getting the same care as someone who's white. Racial and ethnic minorities received lower care. Race also plays a role if someone will be uninsured or not. Another problem with health care is social economics which causes some race to have better care than others. There have been little improvements to address these issues. Today our society is becoming more diverse not less. In 2015 minorities represented
The purpose of this essay is to discuss three patient and health-system related factors that influence health care disparities within the West Texas region and how they are inter-related.
Large disparities exist between minorities and the rest of Americans in major areas of health. Even though the overall health of the nation is improving, minorities suffer from certain diseases up to five times more than the rest of the nation. President Clinton has committed the nation to eliminating the disparities in six areas of health by the Year 2010, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be jumping in on this huge battle. The six areas are: Infant Mortality, Cancer Screening and Management, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, HIV Infection and AIDS, and Child and Adult Immunizations.
First of all, there are many issues which influence the ethnic inequalities in health whi...
According to the institute of Medicine (IOM), racism is a problem in the health care system, that is, the difference between the quality of health care received by minorities and non-minorities is due to racism. IOM is a nonprofit organization that advises the federal government and the public on science policy. It released a report that on average, minorities receive a lower quality of care, even when factors such as income and type of health insurance are accounted for. The report by IOM states that racial stereotypes and prejudice are the cause of the health care disparities. The article by IOM points ...
The disparities in the healthcare system contribute to the overall health status disparities that affect ethnic and racial minorities. The sources of ethnic and racial healthcare disparities include cultural barriers, geography differences, or healthcare provider stereotyping. In addition, difficulties in communication between health care providers and patients, lack of access to healthcare providers, and lack of access to adequate health care coverage
According to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the percentage of racial and ethnic minority groups in the state of Maryland continues to increase. To be exact, high percentages of racial and ethnic minority groups are found in several counties including Montgomery County with a 50.7%, Prince George’s County with an 85.1%, and Howard County with an estimated 40.8%. As these numbers begin to increment, the need for affordable and accessible medical services also increases. However, the reality is, minority groups don’t have adequate access to medical services, and if they do, such services are not affordable. Consequently, we witness health disparities among neighboring communities, minorities suffering from preventable chronic diseases and
Health disparities are the variances in access to healthcare. This also include variance in availability of health care services, facilities, education, and insurance. Another aspect is the variance in the type of violence, injury, and disease that exist in specific communities and ethnic groups. Health disparities leads to inequalities in healthcare access and availability. Health disparities could have negative effects on the health of groups of people, resulting from greater social and economic obstacles. These obstacles could come from discrimination/exclusion due to ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and geographic location.
There are many dimensions of disparity that are known to exist in the United States. According to Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Race, Socioeconomic Status and Health contribute significantly to racial disparities. Evident has shown that when it comes to early onset of illness, severity of diseases, and poor survival rate, the minority groups appeared to be more affected than they white counterpart. This was clearly demonstrated when it came to the incident of breast cancer in some groups. Yes, it has been proven that white women have a higher overall incidence rate of breast cancer compare to blacks, but yet blacks tend to have a higher risk of early onset, and the most severe type of cancer. It is incident like these that merit
Despite the substantial developments in diagnostic and treatment processes, there is convincing evidence that ethnic and racial minorities normally access and receive low quality services compared to the majority communities (Lum, 2011). As such, minority groups have higher mortality and morbidity rates arising from both preventable and treatable diseases judged against the majority groups. Elimination of both racial and ethnic disparities is mainly politically sensitive, but plays an important role in the equitable access of services, including the health care ones without discrimination. In addition, accountability, accessibility, and availability of equitable health care services are crucial for the continually growing
In the United States, about 44 million people have no health insurance, while another 38 million have an inadequate health insurance (“Healthcare Crisis”). This means that about a third of Americans wake up every day knowing that if they fall sick, they would not be able to procure the medical attention they need at an affordable cost. In wake of such statistics, many people argue that the US is lacking in providing these people with free or affordable healthcare that they need, as the UN and WHO recognize healthcare as a human right (Sherrow 31). On the other hand, many people also think that it puts unreasonable burdens on the government, and therefore the people while paying taxes, all while robbing people of their freedom of choice as to