Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities

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

The United States is a melting pot of cultural diversity. For a country that was founded by individuals fleeing persecution, it has taken us many years to grant African-Americans equal rights, and even longer for those rights to be recognized. Despite all the effort to eliminate inequality in this country, health disparity among this minority group remains a significant issue. Research in this area has pointed to several key reasons for this gap that center on differences in culture, socioeconomics, and lack of health literacy.

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,

Healthy communities depend on the promotion of collaboration between health care providers, equitable utilization of health care resources and access to care for disease prevention. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased access to insurance, but has not necessarily contributed to increased access to care (Lane et al., 2012). Limited access to health care and insurance, along with socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual identity, and age contribute to health care disparities in the United States ("Disparities," 2014). The Appalachian Region has many factors that increase the risk of health disparities among this population, including poverty, unemployment, limited access to care,

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.

Growing up, my dad always told me that we were the lucky ones. At the age of 15, he escaped from Vietnam, leaving with only the clothes on his back. Saigon fell to the north, sending people in a final desperate exodus. He would say “If the mines didn’t kill me, the bullets surely would. If the bullets didn’t kill me, drowning would and if drowning didn’t kill me, dehydration would.” In spite of the possibilities faced by thousands like him, my dad made it onto the US Navy ship. While my parents had escaped the war, we faced a different conflict in acclimation. My dad struggled to keep a job. We could barely afford rent, nevertheless see a doctor. For some people, “health disparities” can be described in terms of statistics and terms like “preventative care” and “optimizing accessibility”. For my family, “health disparities” was just a part of life in America. It was the uselessness I felt as I watched my dad work 80 hours a week at several minimum wage jobs just so my brother and I could focus on school. It was the frustration I felt spending hours in vain researching ways to ease my mother’s pain as she suffered from years of untreated stomach ulcers. It was the worry I felt knowing that, despite ranking among the top 10% of students in my high school class, I still could not afford to go to college. In spite of everything, I am one of the lucky ones as I was able to fully fund my college education in scholarships and grants. I am lucky because these experiences taught me

Medical researcher, Dr. Leonard Egede, wrote "Race, Ethnicity, culture and disparities in healthcare," published in June of 2006 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. He explains that patients of minority ethnicity experience greater morbidity and mortality from different chronic diseases than non- minorities. In his article, minority patients are more vulnerable populations and include groups that do not receive health care services. According to Dr. Egede, the Institution of Medicine (IOM) racial and ethnic disparities still exist in health care, since they are connected with worse outcomes in many cases, are not acceptable. Also, IOM reports that there are some interesting views in regard to comprehending and recognizing the sources of disparities, assisting factors, planning and measuring effective interventions to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care. The role of IOM is significant because it provides suggestions and directs the importance of data collection that impacts

“Nurses have a long and rich history of wanting to do the most good for the most people. Today, it is imperative that advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) continue that tradition by delivering care that improves the health of populations.” (Curley & Vitale, 2016). Along with other health care providers, APRNs individually share the responsibility of promoting more healthier lifestyles among his or her surrounding community. Over the course of the past several years, much needed attention has been focused towards population based health disparities and the impact thereof on our nation. In the pursuit of obtaining a healthier society, the U.S. government has designed and utilized a program presently titled HealthyPeople2020. This program

The vision of The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to help provide the American people have a healthy life equally. By increasing awareness throughout the nation on the prevalence rates and impact of health disparities on individuals and communities The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) helps reduce and encourage elimination of health disparities. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) has a direction on developing and conducting research, publication of findings, train and public education to better minority health and minimize health disparities. In achieving those goals The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) must enhance its research and create a culturally knowledgeable workforce, develop researches on factors that influence health disparities and must reach out to communities to provide any new information that was identified in the recent researches and lastly educate the public.

Health disparities are considered to be differences dealing with health care, which is closely linked with society economic and/or environmental disadvantages. The disadvantage could be caused by race, gender, age or socioeconomic status. Health disparities can be affect certain people in different ways which will cause greater obstacles based on their race or ethics group or religion.

These terms are relevant for improving the health of all Americans by achieving improvements in overall quality of care and population health. Moreover, health disparities are costly, resulting in added health care costs, lost work productivity, and premature death (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012). According to a recent analysis 30 percent of direct medical costs for Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian Americans are excess costs due to health inequities) and that, overall, the economy loses an estimated $309 billion per year due to the direct and indirect costs of

The Kansas Health Institute executive summary for Racial and Ethnic Minority Health Disparities in Kansas (2016) revealed the state findings resemble national findings for racial and ethnic health disparities. The distinct concern for the African-American population consist of an earlier death rate for those diagnosed with diabetes. However, despite the initiatives to improve minority health disparities, Kansas continues to fall short of achieving the goals for improvement in care (Kansas Health Institute, 2016). These findings are alarming given the health outcome risk associated with diabetes. Furthermore, the risk factor of obesity as the leading cause for the development of diabetes is concerning for Kansas residents, especially given that

In this article, the experience of a medical doctor is used to shed light on the subject of racial bias/ discrimination in health care and how it is affecting health outcome of racial and ethnic minority. “Race or ethnic group is a major social factor that influences health in the U.S Braveman 387. Health inequity is at the center stage of public health discussion. Understanding the upstream factors that causes inequities and disparities can help to bridge the gap of inequality. Eliminating health disparity will protect and improve the health of racial and ethnic minority population, which is consistent with the principle of public health-improving and protecting health of populations.

Racial inequality in health are everywhere amongst various and different individuals. For example, racial inequalities can be obesity, diabetes, heart disease and many more. These there are different types and forms of racial inequalities. For instance, one of the most common diseases that hs racial inequalities in society is obesity. Some people that have different health statuses that from social influences and inequalities other causes such as biological factors, stress, environment and etc.

According to Golash-Boza (2016), the systemic racism or the accumulated disadvantages for non-whites are also reflected in in the areas of health and environment. Golash-Boza (2016) argues that racial inequalities diminish not only he opportunities for non-whites but also “our time on earth”.