Biases And Health Care Disparities

The main purpose of this article was to unexamined biases, to see how much they contribute as well as to address ethnic and racial in health care disparities. Biases can be referred to as favoritism, a favor of one and against another, very systematic and differing by racial and ethnic groups. Many psychologist has turned their focus and studies on common biases, which biases influence medical decisions and interaction.

In doing so, he pays particularly close attention to black patients and their relations with health care policies and practices. Smedly maintains that blacks are not only the victims of, inpatient and outpatient treatment, racial policies, and other services but also the victims of its consequences. He argues that many health care administrators are agents to a system of inequality that support provider and administrator biases, geographical inequalities, and racial stereotypes (Smedly 2012).

In this paper, I will argue that the healthcare system has responsibility in taking care of the racism that is apparent in this system. First and foremost, the word “racism” must be defined in order to prevent confusion on the line of reasoning in this argument. According to Camara Jones’s framework that was developed to highlight how racism can lead to health disparities, there are two levels of racism that will be looked at: institutionalized racism and personally-mediated racism. Institutionalized racism, defined as “differential access to goods, services, and opportunities by race, includes differential access to health insurance”. What is significant to note is that institutional racism does not require personal bias commonly associated

With this increased research and effort, Americans would be able to intervene and make positive impacts with the state, tribal, and local levels to best address health disparities and inequalities. In efforts to thwart ethnic and minority disparities, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passed the HHS Disparities Action Plan in order to establish “a nation free of disparities in health and health care, (Cooper 97)” and to implement a series of priorities, strategies, actions, and goals to achieve this vision. States, local communities, private organizations, and providers have additionally engaged in efforts to reduce health disparities. With the HHS Disparities Action Plan, the Department continuously assess policies and programs on racial and ethnic health disparities, watching to see which policies make an impact on the level of health care received by minorities. Similarly, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage expansions significantly increase coverage options for low and moderate income populations and particularly benefit the “vulnerable populations.” The ACA also includes provisions to strengthen the safety-net delivery system, improve

The third piece for evidence is a book solely based on minorities and health disparities. This book discusses racial and cultural issues in relation to medical disparities, this is not generalized amongst racial groups, the text dives into specifics. I plan to use this text to discuss the different perspectives on race and health disparities in various cultural groups. My two final pieces of evidence will be used to provide the audience with real world examples of how race causes health disparities in modern America. The first article is about how black women face health disparities, the article does dive into women’s healthcare, “Black women are three times more likely to experience an unintended pregnancy than white women. These higher rates in unexpected pregnancy reflect a disparity in access to quality affordable contraceptive services along with other quality women’s health care services” (1). The second article is geared towards ethic groups over the age of 65 who are impacted by health disparities in the form of

Minority health disparities continue to be a pervasive problem within the United States.The Institute of Medicine defines disparity as, “differences in treatment provided to members of different racial or ethnic groups that are not justified by underlying health conditions or preferences” (Snowden 526). Despite adjustments made to access-related factors, insurance and income, minorities still tend receive lower-quality health care than whites (Flores, Olsen and Tomany-Korman 183). According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Relatively little progress has been made toward the goal of eliminating racial/ethnic disparities” (Gronman and Ginsburg 226). In this paper, I will describe the different health disparities that racial, ethnic and sexual minorities experience throughout their lives. I will then discuss the policies health care providers and government entities have put in place in order to eliminate the disparities between minorities and whites.

In the United States society is well aware that hispanics have been treated with a negative attitude in the health care providing services. Just like anybody else no matter what race they are, they should have the same treatment. This situation needs to be more acknowledged and better controlled. White patients have received better quality of care than any other race including black americans, hispanics, american indians, and asian patients. One might argue that the health care providers are free to express their opinion however they like, but just like any job these health care providers have to treat everyone the same and make them feel comfortable. “ Negative implicit attitudes about people of color may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care.” In many cases health care providers have implicit bias in terms of positive attitudes towards whites and negative attitudes towards any other color. “Fifteen relevant studies were identified through searches of bibliographic databases and reference lists of studies that met inclusion criteria.”

Race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic position are social determinants that lead to disparities in healthcare. Despite declining death rates, African Americans have consistently had higher mortality rates than Whites. For example, breast cancer is more prevalent in whites however the incidence of mortality from breast cancer is higher in black women. Black women are also likely to have more advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis than their White peers. Williams (2002) proposes that racial categories are more alike than different in terms of biological characteristics and genetics. Furthermore, they do not capture patterns of genetic variation. Thus, it is not biologically reasonable for genetic differences alone to play a major role

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

Americans seek healthcare to prevent, diagnose and treat most diseases. However many Americans do not get the coverage or practices that are guaranteed by the doctors oath. Insurance plays a major role on the type of care a person receives. It can also effect the type of medications prescribed by a doctor. The type of care can depend on if the individual seeking care has insurance or if they go to the community clinic for free healthcare.

Núñez (2000) states that culture molds the beliefs and behaviors of individuals and influences what they deem suitable (p. 1072). These preconceived beliefs, or biases, can have a negative effect when applied in healthcare situations. Studies show that biased care by healthcare professionals is directly associated with health inequity (Nazione, 2015, p. 954). It is estimated that the economy spends $300 billion annually due to health inequity and health disparities (Wong, Laveist, & Sharfstein, 2015, p. 1417). It is our responsibility as advanced practice nurses that we advocate for our patients to improve their outcomes and implement interventions to help others reduce bias as well.

To obtain the necessary data to understand and eliminate health disparities, I would review a board array of data collection system from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). These systems include “health surveys, administrative enrollment and billing records and records from private data systems” (Perrin, 2004). These data collection systems are used to understand broad areas of determinant of health (e.g. the impact income have on mortality) while others are used to understand health outcomes (e.g. the effect of patient race/ethnicity on health outcomes with diabetes). I would focus only on race/ethnic, socioeconomic position, and language because I believe these to be important in understanding disparities in health and health

To judge or harass somebody based on their beliefs such as what race, or sexuality. Is to say that all reds starburst tastes bad because it is cherry which that would be wrong because some are strawberry. Did you know not even medical services are the same for different race? To assess the public’s perceptions and attitudes about racial and ethnic differences in health care, the Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,884 whites, African Americans, and Latinos in 1999. The survey found that the majority of Americans are uninformed about health care disparities—many were unaware that blacks fare worse than whites on measures such as infant mortality and life

Pediatricians initiating their job may be unaware of the racism by the hospital staff, majorly white, unconsciously. Patients who are minorities may experience a sense of fear of going to the hospital to be unconsciously discriminated against and not being able to connect with someone of their race or culture. Without this connection, patients feel timid when they are not able to communicate with someone who is not of their race, gender or culture causing a border between the patient and the pediatrician. Therefore, as Dossey (2015) says “If Black doctors are marginalized, it is a cinch their patients feel marginalized as well” (para. 8). Meaning that not only minority pediatricians are discriminated, but the patients as well. To forget these patients, have health care issues because their race, culture, or socioeconomic status leads to a major healthcare disadvantage. Indeed, empathy should accompany the pediatrician when conversing the patient’s problem to create a better experience for both. “Thoughts, feelings, and behavior related to race and ethnicity play a critical role in health care disparities” (Penner, 2013, para. 1). This quote implies that it is not only the physical aspects that might be judged but also the emotional state as well. In fact, many other factors influence the unconscious racism to minorities patients and pediatricians such as “socioeconomic status, [and] language proficiency […etc.]” (Penner, 2013, pg. 4). Equally important it is to say the

The target audience for this film is American adults and the healthcare industry. The documentary attracts both males and females, considering the author mainly target individuals who treat patients differently based on social determinants. Overall, the documentary targets adults and health care providers to present the racial discrimination problems in the healthcare industry.