"Despite improvements, differences persist in health care quality among racial and ethnic minority groups." ("Disparities in Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Groups", 2012) According to census data from 2010, African Americans received worse medical care than Whites for 41% of quality measures. They also had worse access to health care for 32% of access measures. Not only are there disparity in the quality of care for some minority groups, but disparities in access to care are common as well, especially in the Hispanic and Latino populations. According to the same 2010 census date, Hispanics received worse care than non-Hispanic-Whites for 39% of quality measures. In addition, they too had worse access to care than non-Hispanic Whites for 63% of access measures. Unfortunately, "racial and ethnic minorities are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to be poor or near poor" ("Disparities in Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Groups", 2012) In general, these poor and underserved populations receive worse care than higher-income people for roughly 47% of quality measures. Trust is the key to all efficient, prosperous, and harmonious relationships. Today, the patient can reach beyond trust in only his/her healthcare providers to verify health recommendations through other sources such as the internet. Supported by confirmation from different sources, the patient can proceed on firmer and more trustworthy information. Initial trust is supported by historic
Although most American citizens today associate racial and ethnic disparities in public health care quality with socioeconomic status, a majority of studies performed conclude that these discrepancies are still highly prevalent when the factor of one’s socioeconomic status is taken out of the equation. Health disparities for a certain minority result in a higher number of illness, injury, and even mortality for that race or ethnicity in comparison to white Americans; therefore, health care disparities can be defined as differences between groups in health coverage, specifically focusing on both the quality and access to care. The Office of Management and Budget has created two ethnic categories for all American citizens to fit into, being either
Despite improvements, differences persist in health care quality among racial and ethnic minority groups. People in low-income families also experience poorer quality care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Access to care measures include facilitators and barriers to care and health care utilization experiences of subgroups defined by race and ethnicity, income, education, availability of health insurance, limited English proficiency, and availability of a usual source of care (Mandal, 2014).
Health disparities endure tenacious issues in the United States of America, setting certain groups at higher risk of being uninsured, limited access to care, facing a poorer quality of care, and overall negative health outcomes. The high incidence of health disparities reflects the range of individual, social, economic, racial/ethnic and environmental magnitudes. Among the minority groups, African-Americans disproportionately access health care and the health disparities clearly glow in the nationwide.
Although the United States is a leader in healthcare innovation and spends more money on health care than any other industrialized nation, not all people in the United State benefit equally from this progress as a health care disparity exists between racial and ethnic minorities and white Americans. Health care disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social or economic disadvantage…adversely affecting groups of people who have systematically experienced greater social and/or economic obstacles to health and/or clean environment 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” (National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities [NPAEHD], 2011, p. 3). Overwhelming evidence shows that racial and ethnic minorities receive inferior quality health care compared to white Americans, and multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including geography, lack of access to adequate health coverage, communication difficulties between patients and providers, cultural barriers, and lack of access to providers (American College of Physicians,
Access to health care ervices is different betweeen races and it is influenced by geography, income. culture and the types of health coverage.
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).
According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality there are some disparities in quality healthcare based on race and ethnicity.
Today, racial and ethnic disparities exist in the public healthcare system in the United States. It is strongly supported by data that depicts members of the minority groups receive disproportionately from different health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and asthma, among other conditions. The main contributors to the racial and ethnic disparities in the public healthcare are the social determinants of the health external to the healthcare delivery system. In addition, social and economic status also affect people’s vulnerability to the disease and their accessibility to public health services. The article provides historical analysis that shows a deteriorating status in the
Terminating the medical care inequalities gap is a problematic, multifaceted task. A study that surveyed 14 racial and ethnic minority subgroups determined that health inequalities could be constricted by providing minorities with better health care coverage, more adequate language skills and assistance, and higher incomes. However, the authors noted that other important factors such as biases, uncertainty in the provision of medical care, and stereotyping would also need to be covered. Ending the disparity gap is not only ethically and professionally imperative, it remains an obvious civil rights inequality that must be addressed. Since the 1990s, federal government, health insurers, and other stakeholders have taken an increased interest in addressing health care inequalities among Hispanics groups. For instance, the Healthy People 2010 initiative highlighted the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities as a prominent public health goal for the next
About 36.6% of the population in the U.S belong to or identifies as one of the 5 ethnic minority groups. These groups are Native Hawaiian, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, African American or Black, or Pacific Islander. The U.S has the most expensive health care system in the world yet many of these minority groups are worse off in regards to socioeconomic and health care status if compared to white Americans. It is plain to see this health disparity when some communities have death rates comparable to 3rd world countries.
Racial segregated healthcare is not new in America it can be traced back to beginning of slavery. “The emergence of theories such as polygenism, and movement such as anthropometry, phrenology, and craniometry in the early 1800’s as early as the Jim Crow laws enacted between 1876 and 1965 only helped to reinforce these disparities.” (Source 3) Also between 1876 and 1965 laws are created equal facilities for minority’s black and white creating it prohibited for minority physicians to follow or receive education in white facilities. (Source 3) In 2011 reports on healthcare quality and disparities, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) finds that low-income individuals and people of color experience more barriers to care and receive poor quality care. (Source
The Common Wealth Fund is an organization that encompasses studies on racial and ethnic health disparities amongst blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians and other ethnic minorities. The main results from the research are that adequate and intensive health care is not as predominant in these ethnic groups as it is for white individuals. Moreover, these conclusions are independent of the patient’s age, income, level of education and insurance membership. In order to pinpoint the upstream causes of these disparities, researchers have examined other factors that may contribute to the quality of treatment, such as the patient-provider relationship and perceptions of Medicaid managed care. The Asian American community is a subject group that has recently gained attention from the scientific community as their experiences in the healthcare setting have not been documented, despite being “one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups” in the United States.
In addition, Hispanics, Blacks, and some Asian are less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to have a high school education or better healthcare. Some Differences in quality of care this groups have in common: Blacks received worse care than Whites for 41% of quality measures. Hispanics received worse care than non-Hispanic Whites for 39% of measures. Poor people received worse care than high-income people for 47% of measures. Inequalities in access are also common, especially among Hispanics and poor people: Blacks had worse access to care than Whites for 32% of access measures. Asians had worse access to care than Whites for 17% of access measures. Hispanics had worse access to care than non-Hispanic Whites for 63% of access measures. Poor people had worse access to care than high-income people for 89% of access
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
In the United States, genetic is not the only explanation underlying the differences in disease burden between races. Much more important factors are socioeconomic status, culture, bias, different access to health care, and environmental influences. In a study conducted by the Institute of Medicine Subcommittee on Standardized Collection of Race/Ethnicity Data for Health-Care Quality Improvement in 2009, the subcommittee concluded that there is strong evidence that the quality of healthcare varies by race/ethnicity. Also, the number of families living in poverty is disproportionately more frequent among African American, Latino, and Native American children. (Payne-Sturges, Devon, and Gilbert C. Gee. "National environmental health measures