Essay Example on Racial Disparities in Diabetes Prevention & Care: Double the Risk for Hispanics & African-Americans

Disparities in diabetes prevention and care are imminent especially among minorities such as people of color and Hispanics. People from minority groups lack adequate facilities to manage diabetes mellitus type two, which increases the mortality rates and financial burdens to the families affected. About 40% of adults in the US are living with pre-diabetes or diabetes. However, the rate of prevalence among Hispanics and African Americans are almost double those of the whites. Peek et al. (2014) note that the mortality and morbidity rates of diabetes in racial/ethnic minorities are 50-100% higher than of the whites. A study by Crawford, Mendoza-Vasconez, and Larsen (2015) reveals that 7.6% whites have diabetes compared to 18.3% of Asian Indians living in the US.

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The gap in prevention and care of type 2 diabetes should be minimized to reduce the economic burden faced by the minority ethnicities. Additionally, the provision of equitable amenities and resources would allow people living with the condition in minority populations manage the disease accordingly to reduce mortality rates (Grintsova, Maier, & Mielck, 2014). Several variables such as inequitable distribution of primary care services, low-quality care, high illiteracy levels, and low income among minorities contribute largely to the gap in diabetic prevention and management (Grintsova et al., 2014).

If the disparity is not addressed, the affected populations, mostly comprised of persons with low social economic status, will have a high prevalence of diabetes-related diseases such as macrovascular and microvascular complications (Glantz et al., 2019). As a result, the mortality rate among adult patients will increase. Families will also face economic burdens as they aim to get affordable care for their patients. According to Glantz et al. (2019), the financial burden on the health care system for Hispanics compared to non-Hispanics is higher because of increased number of patients. Hispanics are largely predisposed to cardiovascular diseases increasing the cost of diagnosis and treatment for diabetes.

References

Crawford, M. A., Mendoza-Vasconez, A. S., & Larsen, B. A. (2015). Type II diabetes disparities in diverse women: the potential roles of body composition, diet and physical activity. Women's Health (London, England), 11(6), 913-927. DOI:10.2217/whe.15.62

Glantz, N. M., Duncan, I., Ahmed, T., Fan, L., Reed, B. L., Kalirai, S., & Kerr, D. (2019). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Burden and Cost of Diabetes for US Medicare Beneficiaries. Health Equity, 3(1), 211-218. DOI: 10.1089/heq.2019.0004

Grintsova, O., Maier, W., & Mielck, A. (2014). Inequalities in health care among patients with type 2 diabetes by individual socio-economic status (SES) and regional deprivation: a systematic literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13, 43. DOI:10.1186/1475-9276-13-43

Peek, M. E., Ferguson, M., Bergeron, N., Maltby, D., & Chin, M. H. (2014). Integrated community-healthcare diabetes interventions to reduce disparities. Current Diabetes Reports, 14(3), 467. DOI:10.1007/s11892-013-0467-8