Health Disparities : Transportation Equity And Applied Theories Essay

Healthcare plays a crucial part in our lives. Health disparities “phrase references black-white differences as well health disadvantages characteristic of other ethnic groups “of color,” such as Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans” (Coreil, 2010 p. 167). Many socio-ecological factors that contribute to the existence of health disparities when it comes immunizations. An individual ability to have access to health care, insurance status, income level, provider and patient knowledge have a significant impact on vaccination rates.

These disparities are obvious in some key measures of wellbeing including life expectancy, the risk for disease, and access to health care (Disparities in Health, 2015). Historically, the major factors contributing to shorter longevity and high rates of disease are overcrowding, poor sanitation and low availability of treatment facilities. However, the change of theses socioeconomic

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 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Satcher (2010) reports that health inequities are “systematic, avoidable, and unjust” disparities (p. 6). He also states that the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that social conditions are the most important determinant of a person’s health. Social conditions “determine access to health services and influence lifestyle choices” (Satcher, 2010, p. 6). These determinants must be addressed in order to reduce health inequity. Inequity can be

A variety of challenges including personal, social, economic, and environmental factors can determine the health of an individual as well as its community. Others determinants of health include genetics, access to medical care, and socioeconomic measures such as education and poverty. Any interference among these factors can often lead to health disparities, which are health gaps that exist between different communities and populations. Health disparities can affect communities based on gender, age, race, social status, economic status, or special care needs. Therefore to understand which factors affect the health of a community, it is necessary to examine the social and economic conditions in which people live in, as well as the rates of diseases

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).

“Failure to acknowledge, and more importantly, to understand the role of Social determinants of Health (SDH) in health and access to health and social services will hamper any effort to improve the health of the population.” (Ompad, Galea, Caiaffa, & Vlahov, 2007). Unemployment, unsafe work environments, globalization and the inability to access health systems are some social determinants of health. Social factors would be considered place of residence, race and ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status are also part of social determinants of health. According to “Social Determinants of the Health of Urban Populations: Methodologic Considerations’ Place of residence and an individual’s status within the place are important determinants of health in urban settings. It is important to recognize that the place of residence is

neighborhood segregation, and other environmental factors within communities. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

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.

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

Health disparities are not based on income but on location. In Chicago, health disparities are a major problem because of segregation. While, on the Northside, someone is less likely to experience health disparities, it’s different on the South and West Sides. When someone looks at a map, they do not see how segregated a city is, but when someone is analyzing a certain neighborhood in Chicago, they will be able to see how segregated the city is. A study shows how neighborhoods in

Health disparities are differences in health outcomes due to factors such as socioeconomic status, sex/gender, ethnicity, race, lifestyle choices, education, cultural norms, and religious beliefs. These factors lead to differences in treatment and outcomes such as disability or mortality. In the United States, Alzheimer’s is the ranked as the sixth leading cause of death and “is the only cause of death in the top 10 that cannot currently be cured, prevented, or slowed” (Nichols, 2017). While research is being done, there remains wide gaps in which people develop the disease and which do not, although age is definitely a major factor. Alzheimer’s currently affects approximately 5.4 million Americans, including an estimated 200,000 individuals younger than 65 who suffer from early onset Alzheimer's (Nichols, 2017).

Amongst Healthy People 2020’s goal planning, they created social determinants, which are “… conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks” (Social Determinants of Health, 2017). Power, privilege, and health all play a role in these social determinants. For example, one of the determinants is “Availability of community-based resources in support of community living and opportunities for recreational and leisure-time activities” (Social Determinants of Heath, 20175). If a community has more power, that increases their chance for bringing in more money. If a community has more money, they can afford to have all these community resources mentioned. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), everyone’s health can benefit from physical activity (Physical Activity and Health, 2015). So having the power and privileges helps communities with maintaining overall good health. However, communities that do not have the power or privileges to afford these community-based resources that promote activity are at a risk of not having the best health. In order to fix this problem, the government would have to get in control and help the communities that are lacking the resources or privileges

Minorities in America (African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos/Hispanic, etc.), are experiencing health disparities and these disparities are proving to be alarmingly fatal and too endemic to ignore; heart disease and stroke are statically most common in greater numbers among people of color. Health disparities among minorities associated with heart disease and stroke stem from social stresses of life (i.e. job security, transportation, living wage, safety as well as affordable living, quality education, food availability, social safety and supportive connections), which also, in turn, impact risky health behaviors and unhealthy patterns associated with daily living. These factors of disparities, according to American Heart Associations (2017), are linked to a number of complex factors that include income and education, genetic and physiological factors, access to care, and communication barriers (Para 3). Communication barriers with Hispanic/Latino and some older Native Americans can cause for doctors visits to be difficult due to limited English, it makes it twice as hard to educate patient with the importance of proper eating and daily health maintenance.