Disparities are all around us and can account for inequality that is seen among different race, in education, business, politics and even healthcare. Inequality can affect all aspects of a person’s life. In the United States it is unfortunate that every citizen is not privy to the same quality of healthcare. This is one of the major challenges and growing issues for the United States healthcare system. The gap in care is derived from racial, ethnic, gender differences in populations. Other factors that cause disparities in health care are income, insurance status, age, religion, mental disabilities, cognitive, sensory or physical disabilities, geographic location, or sexual orientation and gender identification. Racial and ethnic minorities …show more content…
between a span of 2000 and 2010, the prevalence concerning chronic disease comorbidities have increased from 32.2-42.4% for Hispanics and African American population from 43.8-51.6% in people 65 and older. In order to get these numbers to start decreasing those that work in healthcare must first understand the social determinants of health such as conditions where people are born, grow up and live. One social determinant that affects a population access to health is socioeconomic status. Low socioeconomic status is seemingly the most common cause for health care disparities. Socioeconomic status is characterized by a person’s or group’s social standing, education, income and occupation. People that live in low income communities may not have access to nutritious food, adequate shelter or reliable transportation which can lead to decrease in health. One example of health disparities that plague low income families is lack of oral care reach can lead to a domino effect on medical health. There are over 45 million adults and children who live in an area where there is a shortage of dental care. Over half of the low income children have not been seen by a dentist or have received some form of preventative dental care because a lack in insurance. Also, there is a likely possibility that adults living in these types of areas are not receiving care as well. A correlation between lack of dental care or poor dental care can lead to diabetes, heart disease, premature birth, and or problems with births has been identified (Vanderbilt et al,
Additionally, limited access to healthcare services resulted in health inequalities, particularly affecting people of color who faced discrimination in medical
Health disparities is not only a Clayton County issue but a national issue as well. Consequently, Healthy People 2020 initiated a decisive goal to reduce health disparities among all Americans by the year 2020. One of this goals of Healthy People 2020 is the reduction of infant mortality rate among Americans to a target goal of 6.0 deaths per 1,000 live births.1 In 2015, infant mortality rates for black non-Hispanics were 2.2 times that of white non-Hispanics. As it relates to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) black non-Hispanics mothers were 2 times greater than that of white non-Hispanics mothers.
Indeed, you mentioned an important aspect of disparities and it is one related to the disparities affecting racial groups. The United States is a multicultural country so for a healthcare professional to treat a disease or to approach a group is necessary to consider their cultural background, traditions, and beliefs. Despite all the United States effort to eradicate the racial differences in the Country, race continues as one of the most significant factors to take into consideration when we are evaluating health care services or high quality of care. Health disparities among Hispanics most the time is caused by the type of food they consume, and the lack of access to healthcare services. In addition, some Hispanic are not the United States
Healthcare equality is a critical component of a just and equitable society since it ensures that everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy and full life. Healthcare equity is a significant problem in the context of the NHS, as the system is responsible for providing healthcare services to all UK citizens. Nonetheless, there are major differences in access to healthcare services across England, with some communities having more difficulties than
New changes in policy have a focus on prevention and disease management that are designed to decrease hospital readmission and increase community health. Health Disparity Inconsistencies in healthcare delivery is considered health disparity.
Disparities in health care have been an ongoing issue for more than two decades. Evidence suggests that disparities in women and minority population continue to be problematic, with little progress being made to eliminate them. Ethnic and disparities exist for several different reasons. However, several national organizations have made efforts to reduce health disparities, including the Institute of Medicine, (IOM), and the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) as well as Healthy People 20/20.
Health care has been a topic of concern for many individuals in the United States, particularly for black women. Historically, black women have faced numerous barriers in accessing appropriate health care. Despite the efforts made to address the disparities, black women continue to experience numerous challenges in the healthcare industry. This essay will explore the factors that make it difficult for black women to access quality healthcare and the potential solutions to this issue.
Heath and Low Socioeconomic Status Class When examining the health status of Canadians, one may not recognize the flaws of inequality. When looked into further is it evident that not all Canadians are on equal playing fields when it comes to access of health. The concept of social determinant of health, taps into the idea that there are social barriers and obstacle in our society that present challenges for certain social groups and their access to health care. One group of Canadians who experience the effects of inequality in our health care system, are those individuals living in lower socioeconomic status.
Health Care in the US is arguably available to all who seek it but not everybody has had the same experience and treatment when walking through the doors of a healthcare facility. In many cases, people are discriminated against due to their gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income and are often provided with minimal service. Differences between groups in health coverage, access to care, and quality of care is majorly affected through these disparities. Income is a major factor and can cause groups of people to experience higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality relative to another group.
Living in underprivileged neighborhoods creates a lot of stress on community members that predispose them to contracting diseases. Epidemiologist, Ana Diez-Roux, states that people living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have a 50% to 80% increased risk of developing heart disease. An improvement of health policies is required to for disadvantaged neighborhoods to
African Americans: Disparities in health care access and utilization. Health & Social Work, 30(3),
This essay aims to identify and evaluate the inequalities in health care in different areas of society, namely disability and gender. Firstly, it is important to understand what we mean by health inequalities. It is commonly understood that health inequality refers to unjust differences in the health status, usually preventable, between different groups, populations or individuals. The existence of such inequalities is attributed to the unequal distributions of social, environmental and economic conditions within societies. Such conditions determine the risk of individuals getting ill, their ability to prevent sickness, as well as opportunities to access to the right treatments.
Thus, premature death and preventable losses of quality of life are probable outcomes. Elderly individuals may be less frequently provided the best data-supported healthcare simply because they are old. Thus, bias or prejudice against the aged may be a significant cause. Furthermore, Africa-American have poorer access to care than Whites, for one-third of core measures. Asians and American Indian/Alaska Native had shoddier access to care than Whites for 1 of 5 core measures.
The lack of financial resources can be a big problem to access to health care. The lack of available finance is a barrier to health care for many Americans but access to health care is reduced most among minority populations. The irregular source of care is another reason why access to health is a disparity. Compared to white individuals ethnic or racial minorities are less likely to be able to visit the same doctor on a regular basis and tend to rely more on clinics and emergency rooms (News Medical Life Sciences). 5.
Health inequalities are preventable and unjust differences in health status experienced by certain population groups. People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to experience chronic ill-health and die earlier than those who are more advantaged. Health inequalities are not only apparent between people of different socio-economic groups – they exist between different genders and different ethnic groups (“Health inequalities,” n.d.). The situation in which people are born, grow, develop, work and age are affected by social, economic, environmental and most importantly political factors.