Health Disparities And Health Equity

Potter and Perry (2017) states, “Health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health.” Health disparity is experienced by social disadvantaged populations. These vulnerable populations can include race or ethnicity, gender, education, income, disability, and geographic location (Potter & Perry, 2017, p. 33). The Banes family

Description of health disparity is a measure of the difference in health outcomes across populations. There are health disparities in income, poorer health in population living, as well as racial and ethnic differences, with Hispanic Americans, African-Americans and Native Americans; they are having majority

Since the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s “Unequal Treatment Report” in 2002, highlighting the startling but harsh truths behind these health care differences, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the sources of these inconsistencies, with any seeking to identify contributing factors in hopes of creating an effective solution in reducing or eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care

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.

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.

Healthy People 2020 basically describes a health disparity as a difference in health trends in a community that is closely related to low socio-economics. Disparities adversely affect populations who have experienced greater obstacles to health based on their socioeconomic status, age, mental health or other characteristics historically linked to systematic discrimination or exclusion (Healthy People 2020).

Health disparities are present in our health care system. Whether it be racial, educational, or environmental, these disparities exist and are detrimental to health care outcomes. While there have been recent advancements in how to eliminate or reduce these disparities, there is still a major inequity in health care for all individuals.

People often interpret the word disparities as only having to do with race or ethnicity, however the term goes beyond that and includes sex, sexual identity, age, disability, socioeconomic status, and geographic location (“U.S. Department of Health,” 2011). The goal of Healthy People has changed over the decades, at first it was to reduce health disparities, then it was to eliminate disparities, and now for 2020 it is to achieve health equality, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups of people (“U.S. Department of Health,” 2011).

While there is no clear definition of what health disparities are, Healthy People 2020 defines them as “differences that occur by gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation” (Adler, 2008). Health disparities are not determined by solely biological differences, but rather more attributed to the environment surrounding a person. The public health industry is so concerned about racial health disparities that stem from the social environment

In today 's society, we are fortunate enough to live in a very diverse and multicultural nation. Thus, one may not realize that there is a vast array of health issues that is associated with it. A variety of issues that could come with a multicultural society could include, but not limited to: health disparities, access to healthcare, getting equal and quality care, and cultural appropriation. Likewise, there are factors involved that prevents people of minority groups from gaining access to the health care they need like a language barrier or no health insurance. One of the major factors involved that prevents access to proper health care is the built environment in which one lives in. The built environment consists of settings that were designed, created, and maintained by human efforts. The environment one lives in determines what kind of toxins they are exposed, as well as access to resources such as food, parks, schools, and healthcare. Not to mention, where one lives indicates their predicted life expectancy, socioeconomic status, health disparities they are also exposed to. As such, one of the most controversial and debated issue of the built environment is the displacement of the occupying demographic of the area. This is also known as gentrification.

There are three categories that summarize health disparities in the U.S. The first is disparities that have a social or economic cause rather than a biological cause. An example of this would be that the death rates of black American men are 26 percent higher than that of white men. Also, the death rates of black American woman are 19 percent higher than that of white women. An explanation for this is because blacks have a lower socioeconomic status than white. The reason for this is because blacks are more likely than white to never graduate high school, or graduate high school but not go to college (Barr, 43). Therefore, those with low socioeconomic status can’t afford to go to the doctor which results in a health disparity. The second category

Health disparities are often described as the injustices in health care. The term reflects different clinical outcomes between segments of the population: why certain populations have a higher rate of certain diseases or more deaths contrasted with others. (CDC, 2015, p.3)

Health equality is a system where there are no health disparities (as cited in Yukiko, Hurley, Norheim, & Johri, 2015). There are equal opportunities for quality health care for all, regardless of race, status, or income levels. Inequality of health care is out of an individual’s control and is viewed as unfair (Yukiko et al., 2015). Health inequities measure the amount of inequality in health. “In the measurement of health equity, a question arises as to how we should classify unexplained health inequality- fair or unfair, which is an ethical question (Yukiko et al., 2015,

He states that “it doesn’t matter how you achieve it but that you do” (2011). No one pathway taken to greater equality will be the same for differing countries but there are lessons to be learned regarding how similar countries were able to be successful. Sweden was able to attain greater equality by closing the income gap through taxation, having a generous welfare state and benefits for its citizens; on the other hand, Japan was able to do it by having smaller income gaps before taxes and a smaller welfare state (Wilkinson, 2011). What was eye-opening and previously not considered by me was that the same contrasts were seen among states in the U.S. according to Wilkinson. The relationship between justice and health goes beyond health, and includes the structural and political institutions that are intertwined with health as well. Both avenues to greater equality discussed above contained some type of structural or political change that produced an outcome beneficial to all most likely in the areas of health, education, occupation, and improved social conditions. Having this information can direct actions towards looking at all possible approaches to combating inequalities, even those that seem out of the norm or have not been a part of the conversation in the past. Exploring options such as focusing on reducing health inequalities on a small scale (i.e. state level) instead of on the national level; how this looks and what results could potentially come from it are considerations of justice in our healthcare system. Inequalities, whether income, racial, or health based did not spring up overnight; they are the result of historical, political, and economic policies and decision making that shaped the landscape of countries where inequality

Director of the Center on Social Disparities in Health at the University of California, San Francisco