Healthcare Disparities In 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,

Often the term “disparities” is related to a specific racial or ethnic group of people, many variations of disparities exist in America, mainly in regards to health. If any outcome from health disparities can be ascertained is populations and regions in America.

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.

Health care is one of the most controversial and discussed topics in the United States. This is mainly because of the enormous issues that surround this subject matter, such as the goal of creating a greater diversity in the medical professions, the goal to reduce health care disparities, and mainly to improve health care for all. In my personal experience this issues have affected me and my family very closely. As immigrants, I saw my parents struggle with the language, adapting to a new culture and even seeking healthcare. Health care disparities is an imminent issue that affects many of us, including me. On top of the financial struggle my parents faced as immigrants, they also faced the barrier of not being understood. I witnessed how my

Health care reform has been a “hot” topic for decades now. In 2010, Obama signed into law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or more commonly known as Obamacare. In short, the goal was to provide more Americans with affordable quality health insurance and decrease the cost of health care spending. Everyone is guaranteed (required) health insurance or pay a penalty.

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

I agreed Health disparities could be preventable if we educate the community about the resources and programs available to them. The affordable Care act offers Preventive medicine care such as cancer screening test, nutritional education, immunizations and tobacco screening among others. Preventive care are programs focus in the prevention and detection of illness at an early stage, when the treatment has a better outcome, however, the best way to maintain and prevent illness is by making healthy lifestyle choices. CDC report that millions of children, adolescent and infants in United States do not receive preventive care which lack them from achieving their full potential as individuals, some of the preventive care that children should receive are regular’s physical checkups, vaccinations, screening for depression, blood pressure checked, hearing, Flu vaccine and HIV test among

What factors do you think contribute to the disparities in health among ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender groups in your country?

Social locations and societal makeup of neighborhoods and communities undoubtedly influences local incidence and perception of health and illness. The many ramifications of “social location” such as education level, poverty, and targeted institutional and social prejudice construct the fabric of the morbidity and mortality that we see in minority populations (the heterogeneous amalgam of race/ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, political, and economic minorities). Factors such as access to healthcare, health education, community cleanliness and pollution, willingness to seek care, and fear of discrimination can partially explain health care disparities as they relate to such populations. I think a good way to approach the topic of vulnerability

I enjoyed reading your DQ 1 post this week, and it looks like we both stumbled across the same website article about disparities. It was an interesting article to read, and it provided useful information to understand health care disparities better. The health care disparity examples you provided, and your example of how to address these issues would benefit those individuals that live in rural areas. One issue that might arise from developing more resources in rural areas is that you would have to find funding to open, staff, and continually provide more resources in that area. However, missed diagnoses and poorly managed care leads to health care disparities and higher medical costs ( ). Providing more

In a study done by Praphul et al. (2012) health disparities collaborative were implemented in three federally qualified health centers in Louisiana in order to improve the delivery of quality care and improve the outcomes of patients diagnosed with diabetes and heart failure. A qualitative study was conducted with interviews done with the chief operating officer, lead physician, and nurse coordinator. Data was analyzed by interpretative coding. The study was limited by staff turnover, learning curves of employees, remote location of facilities, lower economic status meant limited ability for follow-up visits. Despite these limitations the study concluded that in order to use a collaborative approach in order to improve patient outcomes several

In the other side, eHealth has been a solution in healthcare disparities. Above the previous period a quickly increasing body of works has established the reality of healthcare disparities. Although agreement has not appeared concerning the reasons of disparities, they are normally assumed to be connected to worker, patient, and healthcare system aspects. On the other side, the present United State healthcare system is concerned with near personalized severe care. Yet healthcare disparities by description are a people equal phenomenon. Persons do not have disparities, but populations and groups have disparities. Therefore people’s equal data alone will not allow us to grow customized interventions. Correspondingly, biologic, cellular, or molecular

Ottina, we live in a country where healthcare is a profitable business for the riches. I recall in Obamacare that the government subsidized the premiums for the poor and people below the poverty guidelines. I do not agree with that at all. The government could impel health insurance providers to lower the premiums in exchange for a tax cut. Instead, The Obamacare used tax dollars to pay hundreds of dollars for each citizen and bring more customers to healthcare providers and insurance providers.It would always be repealed by another government because of health disparities in this country. Race discrimination, poverty guidelines, and health statuses are linked. Health care should have been available to everyone regardless the income and the

Tiffany, I liked both of your interventions aimed at increasing access of the Appalachians for health care. Other modes that would increase delivery of care to this rural population would be to use teleconferencing and telehealth, assisting with transportation, walk-in clinics, home visits and enacting clinic sites within these communities (Giger, 2013, p. 267). Also, removing the geographical barriers involve with health disparities associated with this group can be done effectively by using technology. The use of technology by videoconferencing is an alternative means that will help close the disparity gaps in health outcomes experienced by those living in rural areas (Sebesan et al., 2012, p. 264). Technology is part of our daily lives

I am a student researching health disparities and inequalities, specifically suicides. Reading through a report on suicide information gathered from 2005 through 2009, I noticed many interesting issues. After analyzing the textual facts along with the tables and graphs, I learned that the age group 45 through 54 had the highest rates of suicide. This bit of information was a shocking to me. In the news, we more commonly hear of teenagers and young adults taking their lives. I assume this is because the impact is felt more through perhaps the school the teen attended. In these public schools we have seen a rise in suicide awareness and prevention in recent years. However,