Demographic Disparities: A Case Study

Disparities In Care: Case Study 1 Southern Regional Health System try to provide health care to an diverse population in Jackson, Mississippi. Their mission is to provide “excellent quality care for all” and provide care that doesn’t discriminate or is “color blind” (Olden, 2015, pg. 328). One of the central ideas of this establishment is to make the established health care services efficient without disparate. “Understanding the demographic and socioeconomic composition of U.S. racial and ethnic groups is important because these characteristics are associated with health risk factors, disease prevalence, and access to care, which in turn drive health care utilization and expenditures” (National Center for Health Statistics, 2015). Health care disparities include, but not limited

Conklin, T. P. (2002, Fall). Health Care in the United States: An Evolving System. Michigan Family Review, 07(), 5-17. Retrieved from

In recent years and in light of recent tragedies, police actions, specifically police brutality, has come into view of a large, public and rather critical eye. The power to take life rests in the final stage of the criminal justice system. However, the controversy lies where due process does not. While the use of deadly force is defined and limited by departmental policies, it remains an act guided chiefly by the judgment of individual officers in pressure situations. (Goldkamp 1976, 169). Many current studies have emphasized the racial disparities in minority deaths, primarily black Americans, killed by police through means of deadly force. The history of occurrences reveals the forlorn truth that police reforms only receive attention in wake of highly publicized episodes of police misconduct. The notorious 1992 Los Angeles riots brought the matter to mass public attention and prompted improved law enforcement policy. Significant local reforms resulted, for instance, ending the policy of lifetime terms for police chiefs. Additionally, on a broader platform, in 1994, Congress approved provisions to the Crime Control Act in effort to tackle police abuse in a more structured way.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups, and communities” (CDC, 2017).  It  is easy to believe that control on overall health relies solely on making  a firm decision (the “right” decision" to lead a healthy lifestyle— by being active and eating a balanced-diet. There are other factors to be considered in evaluating and understanding health disparities: why people seem to be noncompliant? Or why people aren’t seeking medical attention in a timely manner?  In reading

According to Bennett-Alexander & Hartman (2015), disparate impact is defined as “treating similarly situated employees differently because of prohibited Title VII or other employment discrimination law factors” (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015, p. 64). It can be considered to be intentional discrimination, on the basis that the employee or perspective job applicant can demonstrate a difference in treatment by the employer without appropriate justification (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015). If an employee or perspective job applicant decides to file a lawsuit, then under McDonnell Douglas case, the employer must set up a legal test to consider all relevant factors, if the questions were answered and there is still no suitable justification then the only factors left to consider are age, color, gender, religion, national origin, or other protected category (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).

Planned Parenthood is an organization that provides healthcare and education to both men and women, having over 650 health centers that provide healthcare to countless communities around the world. Shockingly, 78% of those who use Planned Parenthoods services live at or below 150% of the federal poverty line, showing how important this organization is to low-income families (Topulos, Greene, Drazen). Their mission statement is “A Reason for Being”, which is shown through their efforts to provide health care, advocate public policies, create educational programs, and endorse research. There are those who do not believe Planned Parenthood should be funded by the government, though, due to the fact that they provide abortions to women in need. Studies show that the effects of not having Planned Parenthood available are disastrous, causing low-income families to lack a healthcare provider and the number of those who are infected with STD’s and STI’s to rise. The biggest concern communities have about the government defunding Planned Parenthood is the effects that it would have on low-income families who would no longer have access to something that many people take for granted: health care. Although many believe that Planned Parenthood mostly provides abortions, in reality, only 3% of the people that seek help from them receive an abortion, while 97% receive affordable and, in many cases,

Research focusing on the calculation of racial disparities in police outcomes has generally examined police traffic stops and the follow up police activities, such as, citations, search and warnings. Review of these studies suggests that calculation methods of racial disparity vary from one study to another; however, majority of those studies employed population as a baseline measure or benchmarking variable (Withrow, 2002; Smith & Petrocelli, 2001; Withrow & Williams, 2015). Early studies using population as a baseline measure to compare disproportionate traffic stop counts found substantial racial disparities (Lamberth, 1996; Verniero & Zoubek, 1999). Studies later have begun to discuss that

Diversity within the United States has been growing progressively within the past century. About 36 percent of the U.S. population is a part of a minority group, according to the 2010 U.S. Census (CDC, 2017). According to the U.S. Census, a “majority-minority” country is projected by the middle of 21st century, resulting in the white population becoming less than 50% of the population (Elchoufani, 2018). Overall, the life expectancy and child mortality in the U.S. has bettered; however, the minority undergo unequal distribution of illness, disease, disability, and death in comparison to non-minority (CDC, 2017). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), even with all the attempts help diminish health care disparities for minorities, the minorities continue to face these unequal disparities (BLH, 2015).

The mandatory imprisonment policies written for the judicial system are creating disparity of minority inmate population primarily due to non-violent drug crimes and the unjust mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Eventually from socioeconomic disparities, a factor affects low income students from priming them from college is the maintenance of the school. The lower the maintenance of the school like poor hygiene and change of teacher will affect the students highly. It may come to a surprise that hygiene affects the mentally of the low-income school but it does because it distracts them. In the encyclopedia, Multicultural & Diversity Education, it describes that the many disparities that low-income schools face when being in the environment they are in. For example, they provide the example of “Cockroaches, rats, and and other vermin that can be found in the schools” (Multicultural & Diversity Education 119) when attending low-income schools because

The issue with health care in the United States is similar to a domino effect. Each sociological factor such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender all inter twine. This domino effect occurs when one factor connects to another factor in which creates a cycle. This cycle involves inequality, discrimination, and unequal distribution of quality. According to multiple research and scholarly articles, the health care system displays many issues and flaws when it comes to the care and coverage for people depending on their social status.

Research shows that seniors with less education and from lower socioeconomic levels experience more disease, a shorter life expectancy and poorer emotional wellbeing. Additionally, Raina et al. (2000) explains that older men and women health is differentially susceptible to various health determining factors. For example, for older men, education has more effect, income and stress affects older women. The proposition is that health education is necessary to create health awareness and to increase health outcome among the seniors. Rowlands, Protheroe, Winkley, Richardson, Seed & Rudd (2015) study shows that low health literacy is correlated with greater use of medical services, less precautionary care, greater difficulty managing long-term illnesses,

Within society, there are two categories that people are placed into, and they are the “ingroup” and the “outgroup”. Members of the Ingroup have easiest access to resources and services, while members of the Outgroup have a harder time being connected to these same resources, with a major resource being quality healthcare. About 44 million American citizens have no healthcare, and another 38 million have inadequate healthcare (PBS.org). These 82 million people are members of society’s outgroup concerning affordable and quality healthcare. While the Affordable Healthcare Act has helped numerous Americans gain health insurance coverage, there is still an issue of disparity of quality healthcare in America. Although there will never

The role of women in society has taken a drastic change from their predecessors of the 1950’s. Women have found their voice in society through the power of voting as one of the first landmarks, and now more than ever, women are forcefully breaking through the glass ceilings in the workforce arena. The concern at hand is a woman’s ability to access timely and appropriate care as well as preventive services, which enable her to continue balancing the many hats that she is wearing in modern society. With the new health reform law, passed by President Obama in March of 2010, this new law holds the potential to expand women’s access to health insurance coverage and make reforms that may strengthen the health care systems ability to

Changes in access to health care across different populations are the chief reason for current disparities in health care provision. These changes occur for several reasons, and some of the main factors that contribute to the problem in the United States are: Lack of health insurance – Several racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other minority groups lack adequate health insurance coverage in comparison with people who can afford healthcare insurance. The majority of these individuals are likely to put off health care or go without the necessary healthcare and medication that is needed. Lack of financial resources – Lack of accessibility to funding is a barrier to health care for a lot of people living in the United States