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. Diabetes is a disorder when the body does not produce enough insulin, and when insulin is not released into the body it does not allow glucose to enter the blood stream. There are three different type of diabetes but the one that affects African Americans is type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes normally occurs in adults and it happens when their body can make its own insulin but will not be able to use it. Some symptoms for diabetes ca... ... middle of paper ... ...betes - Diabetes Center - Everyday Health. EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/understanding/diabetes-mellitus-through-time.aspx Mensah, G. A., Mokdad, A. H., Ford, E. S., Greenlund, K. J., & Croft, J. B. (2005, January 24). State of Disparities in Cardiovascular Health in the United States. Circulation. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/10/1233.short Ward, D. E., Jemal, D. A., Cokkinides, D. V., Singh, D. G., Cardinez, C., Ghafoor, A., et al. (2008, December 31). . Wiley Online Library. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.54.2.78/full Williams, D. R., & Jackson, P. (2014, April 1). Health Affairs. Social Sources Of Racial Disparities In Health. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/2/325.short
The public needs to address racial disparities in health which is achievable by changing policy addressing the major components of socioeconomic status (income, education, and occupation) as well as the pathways by which these affect health. To modify these risk factors, one needs to look even further to consider the factors. Socioeconomic status is a key underlying factor. Several components need to be identified to offer more options for those working on policy making. Because the issue is so big, I believe that not a single policy can eliminate health disparities in the United States. One possible pathway can be education, like the campaign to decrease tobacco usage, which is still a big problem, but the health issue has decreased in severity. The other pathway can be by addressing the income, by giving low-income individuals the same quality of care as an individual who has a high
Racial disparities in The United States health care system are widespread and well documented. Social and economic inequalities between racial minorities and their white counter parts have lead to lower life expectancy rates, higher infant mortality rates, and overall poorer health for people of color. As the nation’s population continues to become increasingly diverse, these disparities are likely to grow if left unaddressed. The Affordable Care Act includes various provisions that specifically aim to reduce inequalities for racially and ethnically marginalized groups. These include provisions in the Senate bill and House bill that aim to expand coverage, boost outreach and education programs, establish standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate practices, and diversify the health care workforce. The ACA, while not a perfect solution for eliminating health disparities, serves as an important first step and an unprecedented opportunity to improve health equity in the United States.
Health 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.
Williams, D. R., & Collins, C. (1995). Us socioeconomic and racial differences in health: Patterns and explanations. Annual Review of Sociology, 21(1), 349. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9509242616&site=ehost-live
African Americans face a multidimensional health care crisis that affects the young or old, rich or poor. Too many African Americans are uninsured or underinsured. The elderly cannot afford long-term health care leaving the family to care for them. Health care cost is constantly rising and are out of control, reform is the only way out.
“Racial and ethnic disparities are the differences in the rate of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific racial and ethnic population groups” (Kominski, 2014, p. 95).
“Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options?” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 20 Oct. 2008 https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/eliminating-racialethnic-disparities-in-health-care-what/
Townsend, P., Whitehead, M. and Davidson, N. (eds) (1992) Inequalities in Health: the Black Report and the health divide, Harmondsworth, Penguin.
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.
A health disparity is a term used to show that there are inequalities that occur in the healthcare system. Race, sex, age, disability, and socioeconomic status can all attribute to a person 's health outcome. According to Healthy People 2020, health disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion.” In the United States, many ethnic minorities experience the effects of health disparities. African American, Asian American, Latinos, and Native Americans have a higher occurrence of poor health outcomes compared to the white population. Some examples of health disparities include: African American men, for instance, are more likely to die from cancer than white men. White women are more likely to develop breast cancer than African-American women. African-American men are more likely than white men to develop prostate
Kelly, M and Nazroo, J (2008) Ethnicity and health. In Graham, S. ed. Sociology as applied to medicine. 6th ed. London: Saunders, pp. 159 - 175
In recent discussions of health care disparities, a controversial issue has been whether racism is the cause of health care disparities or not. On one hand, some argue that racism is a serious problem in the health care system. From this perspective, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) states that there is a big gap between the health care quality received by minorities, and the quality of health care received by non-minorities, and the reason is due to racism. On the other hand, however, others argue that health care disparities are not due to racism. In the words of Sally Satel, one of this view’s main proponents, “White and black patients, on average don’t even visit the same population of physicians” (Satel 1), hence this reduces the chances of racism being the cause of health care disparities. According to this view, racism is not a serious problem in the health care system. In sum, then, the issue is whether racism is a major cause of health care disparities as the Institute of Medicine argues or racism is not really an issue in the health care system as suggested by Sally Satel.
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
The idea that the successful health and health care organizations of the future will be those that can simultaneously deliver excellent quality of care, at lower total costs, while improving the health of their population is taking hold. The main reason is because of health disparities. Addressing health disparities has been a challenge for decades. This paper will look at a few examples of how health disparities can affect individually, thus the overall health of a population.
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