Health and Healthcare Disparities (Essay Sample)

Health and Heath Care Disparities
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Health and Heath Care Disparities
In the American health care system, there are numerous issues that require stakeholders to adopt effective strategies in providing the most effective solutions. These issues often affect individual, community, and population health outcomes characterized by the inadequate distribution of health care resources. Various health care agencies advocate for equality in the clinical environment, which is a challenge to achieve as reflected by persistent health and healthcare disparities. In the African American communities, health care disparities are exacerbated by inadequate health care professionals, lack of insurance coverage, and other socioeconomic factors such as poverty and unemployment ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"x1w2qgUG","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Baciu et al., 2017)","plainCitation":"(Baciu et al., 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13886,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/W9BBY4DW"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/W9BBY4DW"],"itemData":{"id":13886,"type":"book","abstract":"As part of its statement of task, the committee was asked to review the state of health disparities in the United States and to explore the underlying conditions and root causes contributing to health inequities and the interdependent nature of the factors that create them (drawing from existing literature and syntheses on health disparities and health inequities). In this chapter the committee reviews the state of health disparities in the United States by race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, and disability status, highlighting populations that are disproportionately impacted by inequity. In addition, this chapter summarizes data related to military veterans as well as rural versus urban-area differences. The committee drew on existing literature, comprehensive reviews (AHRQ, 2016; NCHS, 2016), and recent studies. In Chapters 2 and 3, the report features examples of communities that are taking action to address the root causes of health inequity. These brief examples are meant to be illustrative of the work being undertaken by communities throughout the country. In Chapter 5 the report takes a more in-depth look into nine examples of community-driven solutions to promote health equity.","language":"en","note":"container-title: Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity","publisher":"National Academies Press (US)","source":"www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov","title":"The State of Health Disparities in the United States","URL":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425844/","author":[{"family":"Baciu","given":"Alina"},{"family":"Negussie","given":"Yamrot"},{"family":"Geller","given":"Amy"},{"family":"Weinstein","given":"James N."}],"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2021",11,15]]},"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017",1,11]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Baciu et al., 2017). It is worth noting that African American individuals have worse health care outcomes compared to other ethnic groups. Reducing the rate of inequalities among the minority requires implementing evidence-based strategies for addressing discrimination, racism, poverty, and other factors that limit people of color from accessing medical services. Given the diversity in the health care environment, training professionals from disadvantaged communities would help ease communication, especially for individuals who have limited English proficiency.
Population Health Problem and its Relevance to Clinical Practice.
Despite the advances in diagnosis and treatment of various illnesses among the communities, people of color continue to be burdened by chronic diseases. For instance, the 2020 report by ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"yaoeF1QD","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Carratala & Maxwell, 2020)","plainCitation":"(Carratala & Maxwell, 2020)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13883,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/75AGWM9H"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/75AGWM9H"],"itemData":{"id":13883,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Center for American Progress. Washington, DC: May","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Health disparities by race and ethnicity","volume":"7","author":[{"family":"Carratala","given":"Sofia"},{"family":"Maxwell","given":"Connor"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2020"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} Carratala & Maxwell indicates that 13.8% of African Americans report having poor or unfair health services compared to 8.3% of non-Hispanic whites. More importantly, 6.2% of African Americans have adequate access to mental prescription medication compared to 15.3% non-Hispanic white adults. As a result, of limited health care services in these communities, 3.8% of African Americans reported severe psychological distress in 2018. These statistics give a worrisome trend that requires collaboration between critical stakeholders to enhance community health ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YOQhlTKl","properties":{"unsorted":true,"formattedCitation":"(Williams & Cooper, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Williams & Cooper, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13905,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/Y65YA2ST"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/Y65YA2ST"],"itemData":{"id":13905,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"International journal of environmental research and public health","issue":"4","note":"publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","page":"606","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Reducing racial inequities in health: using what we already know to take action","title-short":"Reducing racial inequities in health","volume":"16","author":[{"family":"Williams","given":"David R."},{"family":"Cooper","given":"Lisa A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Williams & Cooper, 2019). As a professional, providing communities with affordable and adequate care services is the first approach for addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the clinical environment. Additionally, professionals have the responsibility to advocate for equality regardless of patients’ race, sex, gender, or socioeconomic status.
Addressing health care disparities among racial and ethnic minorities is essential to clinical practice in promoting collaboration between patients and professions. Clinicians are tasked to make every decision in reference to issues affecting the patient while acknowledging their cultural, informational, and linguistic needs ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"63NmSRf3","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Artiga et al., 2020)","plainCitation":"(Artiga et al., 2020)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13908,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/7XFEDYTT"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/7XFEDYTT"],"itemData":{"id":13908,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Kaiser Family Foundation","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Disparities in health and health care: Five key questions and answers","title-short":"Disparities in health and health care","author":[{"family":"Artiga","given":"Samantha"},{"family":"Orgera","given":"Kendal"},{"family":"Pham","given":"Olivia"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2020"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Artiga et al., 2020). From an ethical perspective, it is worth recognizing that discriminatory treatment of patients violates the code of ethics that guides professionals’ decision-making process. Statistics indicate that racial differences between people of color and white adults determine the causes of death, especially when considering chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and stroke. Due to lack of health care insurance, many African American believes that their health depends on fate rather than efforts by the government to protect them. More importantly, African Americans record the highest mortality rate from cancers than all other racial groups ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"V37PiiP5","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Carratala & Maxwell, 2020)","plainCitation":"(Carratala & Maxwell, 2020)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13883,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/75AGWM9H"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/qBtJ3Wwt/items/75AGWM9H"],"itemData":{"id":13883,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Center for American Progress. Washington, DC: May","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Health disparities by race and ethnicity","volume":"7","author":[{"family":"Carratala","given":"Sofia"},{"family":"Maxwell","given":"Connor"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2020"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Carratala & Maxwell, 2020). While the health care sector has numerous policies and regulations to deter disparate treatment of patients, professionals need to be at the frontline in promoting patient-centered care supported by cultural awareness and sensitivity.
Peer-Reviewed Literature and Professional Sources
During health care research, credibility is the first aspect that needs to be established. Credibility helps in assessing whether the research materials can be relied upon in addressing the issue at hand. For many health care professionals, policymakers, and patients, high-quality scientific research assists in making an info...