Healthcare Disparity

Healthcare Disparity

Introduction

The healthcare industry comprises a significant proportion of the overall US economy, nearly 15 percent. Americans have generally become healthier in recent decades; however this improvement has not been shared equally. Despite the immense stature of the industry and the involvement of private and public actors; the US industry is increasingly facing a complex issue - racial and ethnic disparity amongst minorities in US, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Health Care (AHRQ) reports that 17 percent of Hispanics, and 16 percent of African Americans report unsatisfactory or poor health. Statistics also show that minority groups have higher rates of several serious illnesses in this country.

Discussion

Overview of Health Disparity

Health disparities may be defined as the differences in health outcomes on the basis of social inequalities, such as race, social class and ethnicity. These factors perform a very significant role in the health care of individuals.

Reasons for the health disparity in the population studied

A larger proportion of minorities occupy the lower strata of the US population. Therefore African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are diagnosed and treated in a different manner, by medical practitioners and other related departments, as compared to the high class individuals (Barr, 2008). It has been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that individuals with low income have less average healthy days comparatively. Moreover, rates of preventable hospitalizations rise as the income level declines. Apart from the above mentioned variables, some of the major factors which contribute towards the disparities in healthcare amongst US minorities are lack of access to health insurance, inaccessibility to primary care, and cultural and communication barriers.

Strategies for removing healthcare disparity amongst US minorities

Statistics reveals that eliminating healthcare disparities would prevent approximately 1 million hospitalizations and save USD 6.7 ...