Racial Disparity In Health Care Essay

According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (Kassandra, A., 2015), the issue of health disparities have impacted many people’s lives in the community where the minority groups do not have equal access to the quality health care. These

Overall racial/ethnic minorities such as Blacks and Latinos receive poorer quality health care than whites, and have more health problems often caused by structural factors in socioeconomic status

Everyone should have the opportunity to achieve a healthy life and have comprehensive health care services available to them. To achieve this healthy life, people need to have access to the health care system and to a health care provider with whom they can develop a trusting relationship. However, existing barriers to attaining health care services often lead to disparities which in turn lead to differences in life expectancy, health status and a higher prevalence of certain chronic diseases (HealthyPeople.gov, 2012).

In the field of health care there is a pervasive notion that many blacks are presumed to be low income. It is interesting to see how blackness is associated with low income and class. For example, questions regarding where black patients reside and what their current occupation is can be directly linked to racial profiling in health care. The author contends black patients are more likely to receive a lower quality of health care due to one’s insurance status and income. Here, too, one can maintain that race is deeply interwoven into the construct of class and accessibility (Smedly 2012). As a result, class serves a higher purpose of being granted access to the accessibility of better medical resources and standard of care. Conversely, the construct of class not only gives and takes away in its relation to recieving appropriate resources in

. Addressing health inequalities and health care is not only important from the point of view of social justice, but also to improving the health of all Americans by improving the quality of care and health of their children. People. Moreover, the difference in health is expensive. An analysis estimates that about 30% of total direct medical expenses for blacks, Hispanics and Asians are excessive costs due to inequalities in health. The difference also leads to economic losses due to indirect costs related to loss of productivity and premature mortality. (Artiga,

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

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,

Although there are a few “race related” diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, the illnesses that are killing the minority population are environment related, like Coronary Heart Disease. In a study done by Alan Goodman, he cites four important points about race and genetics:

In recent discussions of health care disparities, a controversial issue has been whether racism is the cause of health care disparities or not. On one hand, some argue that racism is a serious problem in the health care system. From this perspective, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) states that there is a big gap between the health care quality received by minorities, and the quality of health care received by non-minorities, and the reason is due to racism. On the other hand, however, others argue that health care disparities are not due to racism. In the words of Sally Satel, one of this view’s main proponents, “White and black patients, on average don’t even visit the same population of

Health Disparities Paper Health disparities are among one of the most preventable health obstacles facing the United States today. Access to adequate health care among minority and other racial groups remains overrun with inequities which are difficult to comprehend given the abundant resources available in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), health disparities affect racial and ethnic minorities at an accelerated rate.

At the point when contrasted with whites, these minority bunches have higher rate of endless ailment, higher mortality and poor wellbeing results. Among the ailment particular cases of racial and ethnic variations in the united state is the tumor frequency rate among African Americans, which is 10% higher than among whites. Furthermore, grown up African Americans and Latinos have roughly double the danger as whites of creating diabetes. Minority likewise have higher rate of cardiovascular sickness, HIV/AIDS, newborn child mortality than whites.

This can have an effect on the health and life expectancy. It is interesting to look at why blacks have a lower life expectancy than whites. How black have unequal health outcomes and how racial ideologies have changed over time. Looking back at the slavery era in United States, medical care was brutal and ineffective (Golash-Boza, 2016, p.251). Blacks had no right to refuse

The social determinants of health encompass many factors which can be social, economic, and political (Lathrop, 2013). Social determinants of health do not only affect those that live in impoverished neighborhoods but also those that are ranked in the middle. Lathrop (2013) further discussed how the unequal distribution of wealth and the availability of resources can greatly affect a person’s health. Healthcare in the U.S is still a subject of discussion. As healthcare professionals, we have the opportunity to make a change and treat patients and families with utmost respect and provide a high level of care regardless of their social status.

Demographic China has been unsuccessful in reducing the gap in healthcare disparities between urban and rural areas due to changes in health insurance and delivery. These changes have made access to medical care more difficult for the poor, uninsured, and underinsured. Rural areas in China are the most vulnerable because of a lack of true insurance plans and the accompanying comprehensive coverage. Approximately 800 million individuals live in rural areas, but eighty percent of the medical institutions are located in cities. Furthermore, high-quality medical resources tend to be mostly available in large-capacity hospitals.

In the United States, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it is quite obvious that millions of people are not able to enjoy the benefits of our gross domestic product or national income. Health is one of the aspects that remain stagnant. Various people with different ethnicities face many of the same health risks, but they also have fears unique to their racial, ethnic, cultural upbringings. To gain an understanding of these modifications and formulation of appropriate responses requires an individual to study more in depth their surroundings. Disparities in access to health care or in the quality of services within existing health care delivery systems require interventions that are social, economic, environmental, or occupational. Some investigators have examined concerns related to stigma, social support, lack of a home, and poor cultural understanding by providers. Along with a plethora of researchers who have lots of knowledge on this issue, I wanted to further investigate how socioeconomic factors have a huge mark on race and health disparities in the United States.