Health Disparities

A healthcare disparity is a limitation of healthcare availability, usually among a certain racial or socioeconomic demographic (Black, 2013). However, there are disparities that don’t have a specific demographic and affect the entirety of the United States, which are potentially most detrimental to the overall health of our country. One of those disparities is health literacy, or the exchange of complex information from the healthcare provider to the patient or client (Black, 2013). The lack of health literacy in America poses as a problem, especially with the chronically ill. Without proper knowledge of how to treat their illness and what to do when the disease process worsens or ameliorates can potentially cause millions of unnecessary hospitalizations,

Through the weekly courses, lectures and readings, I have learnt a lot about racial and ethnic disparities, racism amongst minorities (Hispanics, African American-Black, Asians, Latinos). America is a nation of immigrants and their health and healthcare consists of multi-ethnic immigrant stories. I want to share some thoughts on racial and ethnic health disparities, on why I think that America is still a racist nation and racism is so insidious and pervasive. 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

The relationship between the determinants of health and health outcomes had been thoroughly studied. In policies or programs to reduce and prevent health disparities, factors that contribute to the rise in trends are called the determinants of social health. It is equally important to recognize that childhood is an important time in which interventions can have a significant impact on health outcomes throughout life. (Dubiel et al, 2010)

Healthcare disparities have been an issue all over the world for a very long time. The purpose of this paper is to give you knowledge on disparities within the health care environment. This paper will discuss the definition of disparities, types of disparities, reasons for disparities, statistical data from trends and reports, and information on disparities elimination and improvements.

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 different or delivered in different ways between literacy component individuals and illiterate individuals and be viewed as unequal care. Healthcare facilities must be cautious when providing care and be cautious of the health disparities that exist in order to provide equal and

Health Disparities, a term most common in the United States (Public Health Reports), is known as the difference or inequality that is justified by using people’s race, gender, age, rank, and socioeconomic status. In other words, it known as injustice in the health care services. Inequality within health care access has been a topic for years due to noticeable inequality. Inequality in health care for mother’s ranges from age, race, income status, and education. When the health care providers has the ability to deny service to anyone they feel cannot benefit the provider or the mother, this is where a disparity becomes the outstanding limit of injustice.

Disparities in health and health care in the United States have been a longstanding challenge resulting in some groups receiving less and lower quality health care than others and experiencing poorer health outcomes. Hispanics, Blacks, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and low-income individuals are more likely to be uninsured relative to Whites and those with higher incomes. Low-income individuals and people of color also face increased barriers to accessing care, receive poorer quality care, and experience worse health outcomes. The Department of Health and Human Services Disparities Action Plan (HHS) sets out a series of priorities, strategies, actions, and goals to achieve a vision of a nation free of disparities in health and health care.

Minority health disparities continue to be a pervasive problem within the United States.The Institute of Medicine defines disparity as, “differences in treatment provided to members of different racial or ethnic groups that are not justified by underlying health conditions or preferences” (Snowden 526). Despite adjustments made to access-related factors, insurance and income, minorities still tend receive lower-quality health care than whites (Flores, Olsen and Tomany-Korman 183). According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Relatively little progress has been made toward the goal of eliminating racial/ethnic disparities” (Gronman and Ginsburg 226). In this paper, I will describe the different health disparities that racial, ethnic and sexual minorities experience throughout their lives. I will then discuss the policies health care providers and government entities have put in place in order to eliminate the disparities between minorities and whites.

Governmental agencies influence health policies by influencing the Federal government, State government, and local laws by using population health research studies and interventions studies reported of health disparities. In addition to being well informed with health disparities they have access to investing, research and collecting evidence in assisting them to gather information that can influence health care polices. With each research that is conducted can possibly create new or old policies to be improved and aimed to reduce health disparities.

A proponderance of statistics derived from scholarly sources corroborates the notion that minorities who have a low socioeconomic position or have an significantly low income suffers many atrocious health disparities this includes obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases thus projecting a direct correlation between the two variables. In addition, minorities, specifically African-Americans that live in low income neighborhoods have less access to fresh, healthy and organic foods. In particular, supermarkets are sparse in their area and sometimes is not within walking distance or within the vicinity of their homes. On the flipside, these neighborhoods have the highest levels of fast-food restaurants and convenient stores. These barriers

Race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic position are social determinants that lead to disparities in healthcare. Despite declining death rates, African Americans have consistently had higher mortality rates than Whites. For example, breast cancer is more prevalent in whites however the incidence of mortality from breast cancer is higher in black women. Black women are also likely to have more advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis than their White peers. Williams (2002) proposes that racial categories are more alike than different in terms of biological characteristics and genetics. Furthermore, they do not capture patterns of genetic variation. Thus, it is not biologically reasonable for genetic differences alone to play a major role

Health disparities undoubtedly exist among different racial groups with Healthy People 2020 identifying reducing racial gaps and infant mortality as a critical objective (Loggins & Andrade, 2013). Black children are reportedly two times more likely to die during their first year of life than white children (Huffington Post). Furthermore, the overall infant mortality rate is 6 deaths per 1,000 births, but for African American infants the mortality rate is 13.31 deaths per 1,000 births (CDC). There have been many medical advances, such as prescreening to find health issues that contribute to health disparities, but each racial group still do not benefit equally.

The disparities in healthcare amongst minorities, elderly, and the poor are mind blowing, but in order to help reduce disparities, there needs to be an awareness and accurate data available to assess and implement a plan to bring better quality healthcare to communities.

.Health disparities is a population-specific difference in the existence of multiple health outcomes, diseases, and entry to healthcare. Health disparities are known among diverse ethics for instance like Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and African Americans. These groups have a higher chance of chronic conditions along with having a higher percentage in mortality and impoverished health outcomes. Most developing countries are more prone to having health disparities. Studies have shown that poverty, poor access to health care, and exposure to the environmental problem are the leading cause of health disparities.

Americans seek healthcare to prevent, diagnose and treat most diseases. However many Americans do not get the coverage or practices that are guaranteed by the doctors oath. Insurance plays a major role on the type of care a person receives. It can also effect the type of medications prescribed by a doctor. The type of care can depend on if the individual seeking care has insurance or if they go to the community clinic for free healthcare.