Health Disparities And Health Care

Barriers in health care can lead to disparities in meeting health needs and receiving appropriate care, including preventive services and the prevention of unnecessary hospitalizations (HealthyPeople.gov, 2012). In their 2008 annual report, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality lists several disparities’ in health care. They report that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States

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

Financial barriers to access health care are common in a low-income family when they are uninsured or underinsured. Many uninsured and undocumented immigrant received federal and state health care coverage. Latinos and African American are the ethnicities that are disproportionally get affected. Limited access to a doctor when they are sick, taking non-prescribed medication and holding off recommended treatment is only some of the problems they encountered (Carrillo et al., 2011).

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.

Health disparities amongst African-Americans continue to destabilize not just the various communities but the health care system as a whole. Minority groups especially African-Americans are more probable to agonize from certain health illnesses, have higher mortality rates and lower life expectancy than another other race in the nation. Health disparities are complex and incorporate lifestyle choices, socioeconomic factors such as income, education and employment and access to care services. For the elimination of health disparities within the African-American community, there requires a need for equivalent access to health care and cultural suitable health ingenuities.

The United States is faced with multiple health disparities within the country that encompass many challenges for individuals when it comes to the fairness and access to health care. A health disparity is defined as the inconsistency of treatment between two different groups of individuals. Treatment that could be different could be seen as different care due to age, race, ethnicity, culture, or current socioeconomic status (Koh et al., 2012). Treatment may be harmful for individuals as a result of miscommunication that may be perceived the wrong way. Individuals with low health literacy do not understand the purpose of particular drugs or the name of one’s condition, which can further leave an individual vulnerable to harm. Individuals may sign consent they do not fully understand, and will receive unwanted care and procedures (Clark, 2011). Healthcare providers need to be aware of an individual’s level of understanding before harming the individual with irreversible procedures.

The United States’ whole social structure and system of relations developed based on race, and this prejudice has stuck around to this day, specifically in the U.S.’s healthcare system. It has been found that minority groups often receive less and lower quality treatments than those who are white. On a national scale, ethnic health disparities have become more of a priority in recent decades. Specifically since The Office of Minority Health was established in 1986, and more recently, since “Healthy People”, a popular magazine, named the elimination of these disparities as one of its national goals to accomplish by 2010 (Yang). This paper will explore some of the possible solutions to this extreme gap in health.

In the United States, we believe that health care should not differ by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or geographic location. When these differences do exist, they are referred to as disparities. We see this when racial and ethnic minorities receive lower quality healthcare than whites, when age is a determinant of quality of care, when level of education or sexual orientation are taken into consideration or when a person is uninsured or must rely on government issued health coverage for care. It is important to understand that differences in

Racial bias in medicine leads to worse care for minorities is an article from U.S News & world report on the website http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2016-02-11/racial-bias-in-medicine-leads-to-worse-care-for-minorities.

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.

Health Disparities are unjust and unequal quality of health or health care outcomes which most often occurs as a result of margin in educational level, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and demographics.

disparity of access to quality health services in certain areas of Indiana is seemingly nothing less

One fundamental concern of public health is why some people are healthier than others. Part of the answer may be related to health and health care disparities, which are the differences or gaps in health (eg, life expectancy, morbidity, risk factors, and quality of life) and health care access and quality between segments of the US population as related to race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (eg, income, education). In fact, racial and ethnic minority children are more likely to receive treatment for asthma in emergency departments as opposed to seeing a primary care physician for medical care. (2013, July).

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

quality health care services. “The most comprehensive recent research on inequalities in health care for U.S. minorities shows that, even with equivalent insurance, racial and ethnic minorities are likely to receive less or inferior care compared with whites” (Kornblum; Pg. 38). It is believed that certain races, ethnicities, social class, and genders are more likely to encounter more diseases and illnesses than most, which causes their life expectancy to be low, and for this they are not granted equal health care. Millions die everyday from diseases that could easily be treated if only they had the proper health care services.