Health Disparities Among Minorities : A Pervasive Problem Within The United States.the Institute Of Medicine Defines Disparity

According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (Kassandra, A., 2015), the issue of health disparities have impacted many people’s lives in the community where the minority groups do not have equal access to the quality health care. These

The basis of this publication assesses the progress being made to health disparities, and the efficacy of efforts being made to address social determinants of those disparities. Furthermore, it also touches on the efforts being made to reduce health disparities on the federal, state, and local level.

Healthy People 2020 (2015) states, health disparities are a health outcome of greater or lesser extent between populations, which includes populations by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, education, income, or geographic location. The purpose of the post is to discuss how disparities play a role in health, employment, and education for African Americans. I will also discuss two nursing interventions to decrease health disparities in this population, as well as challenges to implementing the nursing interventions.

Many Americans have access to health care that enable them to receive the care they need. Other faces a variety of barriers that make it difficult to receive health care services. According to the National Healthcare Disparities Reports, racial and ethnic groups are disproportionately represented among the uninsured and lower socioeconomic status. The report showed that health insurance is a contributing factor for poor health for some of the core measures and little improvement (AHRQ, 2014).

The reason why is because there is a difference among racial/ethnic groups when it comes to getting access to health care. In the book it states that pregnant women who are immigrants have a hard to time getting Medicaid and CHIP coverage for their prenatal care. The African Americans/Black, Mexican American women, and infants cannot get high quality health care because they are more likely to be poor so they are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP program. "Children living below poverty had lower coverage than children living at or above poverty for most vaccines."

There are several complex reasons health disparities occur in the United States and around the world. Based on the readings, health care disparity a complex problem with many variables, at the top of the list is poverty followed by ethnicity. Lack of health insurance is a persistent barrier to improving health in the poor (Koh, Oppenheimer, Massin-Short, Emmons, Geller, and Viswanath, 2010). McCarthy (2003) reports uninsured individuals are less likely to receive standard screening care and when hospitalized

For this paper and hereinafter 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.”(healthypeople.gov). This definition is from Healthy People 2020, the guide for the Nation’s health promotion.

. Addressing health inequalities and health care is not only important from the point of view of social justice, but also to improving the health of all Americans by improving the quality of care and health of their children. People. Moreover, the difference in health is expensive. An analysis estimates that about 30% of total direct medical expenses for blacks, Hispanics and Asians are excessive costs due to inequalities in health. The difference also leads to economic losses due to indirect costs related to loss of productivity and premature mortality. (Artiga,

Health disparities among African-Americans is a continuing problem that has been seen over many years. African-Americans have higher poverty rates, have lower rates of insurance coverage, and are more likely to be covered by Medicaid, than the White population (Copeland, 2005). This lack of insurance has led many of these individuals, to not seek treatment for illness, due to problem accessing health care (Kennedy, 2013). This leaves African-Americans with little to no treatment, which causes an increase of medical care that will be needed further on in their life or a sooner than expected death, caused by illness (Copeland, 2005).

A reformation of the achievement levels of African-Americans starts through the investment of high achieving mentors, families, and friends. It begins with African-Americans straying away from statistical choices, such as placing improper value on education, community involvement, and health. The overcoming of such adversities involved with being an African-American woman has propelled my career goals. By striving to become a pharmacist and non-profit leader I am showing that the accomplishments of African-American women in health and leadership are not abnormal. One of the major causes of minority health disparities is the lack of minority health providers. As a healthcare provider, I will be better able to promote wellness in minority populations.

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.

The disparities are around us every day and unless we educate ourselves and our communities these disparities will continue to wreak havoc on our neighborhoods and in the future, we will just be putting our kids and their kids in a continuing cycle of ignorance when we could have done more if it’s just educating the community we leave in, that alone could be enough to turn the tides in our people favor. In turn, I would hope this paper enlighten you on what is going on in our neighborhood and what we can do to correct this issue to preserve our autonomy. Racial and ethnic health disparities undermine what a healthcare system should stand for. Although the top three causes and seven of the 10 leading causes of death are the same for African Americans and whites, the risk factors and incidence, morbidity, and mortality rates for these diseases and injuries often are greater among blacks than whites (MMWR, 2005). Health disparities refer to differences in disease risks, incidence, morbidity, and mortality but most of all for the sake of this paper unequal access to quality health insurance amongst African American in the United States, which will also go hand and hand with the social and economic disadvantages. The disadvantages of health disparities usually affect people of African American descent who have systemically experienced a greater social and economic obstacle to health care.

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,

Being a minority in the United States has and will possibly always been a struggle. With the economy being in shams and minimum wage becoming career, minorities have multiple issues that society is unaware especially in health care. A large percent of minorities are the majority of workers of America, in which requires the most of the health care distribution. But are they receiving the proper access to health care and prescription access based on their ethnicity/race? Discrimination and racism continue to be a part of the unbalancing inequality in society and have adversely affected minority populations, and the health care system in general. Analyzing some of the racial disparities in health care among Americans are modifications in both need and access. Minorities are most likely to need health care but are less likely to receive health care services, including proper drug access.

The United States is a melting pot of cultural diversity. For a country that was founded by individuals fleeing persecution, it has taken us many years to grant African-Americans equal rights, and even longer for those rights to be recognized. Despite all the effort to eliminate inequality in this country, health disparity among this minority group remains a significant issue. Research in this area has pointed to several key reasons for this gap that center on differences in culture, socioeconomics, and lack of health literacy.