Paper Example on Health Disparities

Introduction

The United States has one of the highest health and health care disparities with high-income people accessing quality health insurance and care while the poor have little to no access to insured or quality care in the country's public healthcare sector. Health disparities across groups is a major issue of concern, which manifests itself through many areas of inclusion socioeconomic, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, gender, physical ability, and geographic location among others. Among the most predominant ways through which health and healthcare disparities manifest themselves is through race and ethnicity (National Academies of Sciences et al., 2017). Race and ethnicity are social constructed categorization of people, and which can have significant effects on the health outcomes and lives of people based on how they perceive themselves or are perceived by others in the society.

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The health disparities from racial and ethnic minorities manifest themselves in various ways. For instance, minority groups have higher rates of premature death and chronic diseases compared to the rates among the majority whites. However, Rajaram and Bockrath (2014) note that such disparities are not universal since some minority groups, notably, Hispanic immigrants have better health status and outcomes than among the whites. The disparities in disease burden are greatly influenced by race and ethnicity. For example, African Americans have a more than 30% chance of premature death from heart diseases as compared to whites. On the other hand, native American tribes experience 60% higher infant mortality rates as compared to whites (National Academies of Sciences et al., 2017). Additionally, while the underweight births remain the same for whites, they continue to increase for Africans and Hispanic groups. Obesity is a major problem especially among the Hispanic population where 21.9% of the children between 2 and 19 years are affected (National Academies of Sciences et al., 2017). There is also a variation among Hispanics whereby Mexican-Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes.

The negative health disparities, especially among the African Americans as compared to the whites and other groups are as a result of various factors, among them, socioeconomic status of the group. According to Braveman et al., (2010), Blacks have higher poverty rates as well as more dependents, situations, which limit their access to insurance and finances to afford quality healthcare for themselves and their families. Further, the inadequacy or lack of healthcare programs targeting specific group health problems play a major role in worsening the situation and increasing disparities. The lack of universal healthcare makes access to quality care very challenging especially for groups in the low-income categories, a situation, which partly explains the health disparities in the United States (Rajaram & Bockrath, 2014). Consequently, addressing the health disparities requires an in-depth understanding of the underlying factors for the disparities. The approach can facilitate the creation of solutions that will address the problems with a view of reducing the differences and ensure equal access to quality health care for all people regardless of their racial or ethnic background.

Recommendations

Addressing the health and health care disparities in the United States requires robust policies, which will solve the issues identified. The first policy requires an understanding of the health disparities facing each of the groups and dedicating more resources towards address the problems. For example, there is a need for resources and efforts to be dedicated towards the provision of health care services that seek to address obesity (among Hispanics), heart diseases (among Blacks), and infant deaths (among Native Americans) (National Academies of Sciences et al., 2017). The efforts should include more facilities, equipment, and personnel dedicated to the identified conditions to ensure that the specific conditions or health problems are addressed effectively.

The second approach that the United States should consider in its efforts towards reducing health disparities is facilitating a universal health cover that will ensure previously disadvantaged groups are covered. For example, Braveman et al., (2010) note that, traditionally, men have not qualified for Medicaid, and despite the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the disparities continue. Additionally, poor people in the society do not have adequate coverage under ACA, yet they lack the ability to pay out of pocket due to their financial situation (Braveman et al., 2010). Consequently, it is important to provide a universal health coverage, which will not discriminate against people based on the income.

The last approach that the United States should adopt is addressing the income inequalities that exist in the country. Braveman et al., (2010) notes that the US has one of the highest income inequalities among the developed nations. Addressing income inequalities has a major influence on the healthcare access of people across groups regardless of their racial or ethnic affiliation. The advantage of a society with low-income disparities is that it reduced the poverty burden, and increases the capacity of people to contribute towards their healthcare. Further, it increases the ability of people to access better food and lifestyles, which are all important factors of their health outcomes (Rajaram & Bockrath, 2014). Another advantage of better income is that it reduces the burden that people experience through dependents, and thus reducing stress, depression, and other psychological problems that contribute to poor health.

References

Braveman, P. A., Cubbin, C., Egerter, S., Williams, D. R., & Pamuk, E. (2010). Socioeconomic disparities in health in the United States: what the patterns tell us. American journal of public health, 100(S1), S186-S196.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Committee on Community-Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States; Baciu A, Negussie Y, Geller A, et al., editors. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity.

Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); (2017). The State of Health Disparities in the United States. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425844/

Rajaram, S. S., & Bockrath, S. (2014). Cultural competence: New conceptual insights into its limits and potential for addressing health disparities. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 7(5), 6-21.