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Essay On Health Disparities

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Environmental Racism and Health Disparities are two of the many issues that affect the African American community. Environmental Racism occurs when people of color, who disproportionately live in lower income communities, are revealed to dangerous materials consisting of waste and toxins which are used or disposed of in their communities. Health Disparities occur when a group of people suffers inequalities of health advantages when compared to the access to quality health care and health advantages of another group besides the African Americans. Factors that contribute to issues of health disparities are the lack of health care coverage and vulnerability to toxins in the air. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity are common health disparities that deals with heart disease within the…show more content…
In the African American community, health insurance can be more frequently unaffordable due to medical history or preexisting conditions, matrimonial status, lack of education and employment in jobs that do not provide adequate health care advantages. Because of the lack health insurance, many people do not go to doctors for preventative care, thereby significantly increasing the likelihood of cancer going undiagnosed until it enters late, and even untreatable stages. African Americans also have a higher risk of vulnerability to harmful toxins such as insecticides and pesticides when they are working on farms as well as using them in the home. (Johnson, 2015). The cancer mortality rate for African American men is 33 percent and for African American women is 16 percent (DeSantis, 2013). As a result, more African Americans that are living in industrialized and work environments along with air and water pollution are revealed to toxins that can lead to cancer (Johnson,
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