...HEALTH DISPARITIES Health disparity is defined as inequality in health or the gaps in the quality of health care across races, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Health disparities can also be defined as the significant differences between one population and another. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 describe these disparities as differences in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates. Disparity in health is significant among some income, racial, and ethnic groups in America and is still expanding. Many Americans are in poor health and do not receive the best medical care. While these problems affect people of all groups, the challenges are especially acute for racial and ethnic minorities. When there is element of racism, poverty, and problematic community environment converge greater overall threats to health develop. The most powerful causes of health and health disparity are social and economic determinants or the community conditions for health. There are many reasons why disparities in access to of health care exist in our society. A lot of low income people in America cannot afford health insurance and as such they neglect their health. Some people cannot afford money to buy medication. Because these people did not have insurance they lack a regular source of care. African Americans compared to white minority groups are less likely to seek medical care...
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...Socioeconomic Status and Health Disparity in America Over the years, researchers have uncovered a strong link between socioeconomic status and one’s risk for being affected by healthy disparities (Ethnic, 2015).When examining the relationship between socioeconomic status and health, evidence shows those with the lowest income and education are the unhealthiest, while most advantaged individuals are the healthiest (Braveman, et al, 2009). It is possible through continued research and broadened knowledge surrounding different cultures and biological factors, we may be able to close certain gaps that exist today and reduce the risk for healthy disparity in America. There are many factors that are used today to measure diversity in socioeconomic status. For example, the relationships between demographics, income, and health help us understand what elevates risk for disparity. Some of the demographic factors include: race and ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, special health care needs, and geographic location (Disparities, 2015). While some groups are impacted greater than others, it is important to acknowledge that these inequities are affecting our society as a whole and should be a priority of concern for all (Ethnic, 2015). When considering how a higher income could produce a healthier future, we see that wealthier people have greater accessibility to key resources. Someone with a high income is more likely to have sufficient health coverage and live in a safe neighborhood...
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...Racial and ethnic disparities in health disproportionately affect minority Americans. One of the greatest challenges facing the US healthcare system is the persistence of disparities in infant and maternal health among the different racial and ethnic groups. Now a day a major concern which is affecting communities on overall pertaining to childbirth is preterm births in the United States of America. In fact, preterm births and low birth weight have negative consequences not only for the infants and their families but also on the society. Actual delivery before 37 weeks of gestation is the primary concern and low birth weights have a major impact on the functional domains, such as cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease, and hyperactivity disorder (Brooks-Gunn J., McCarton C. M., Casey P. H., McCormick M. C., Bauer C. R., Bernbaum J. C., Tonascia J. (1994). Babies who weigh 5.5 pounds (2500grams) or less at birth are low babies with low birth weight. Babies weighing 3.3 pounds (1500 grams) or less are Very low birth weight babies. There is a significant medical and social cost for low birth weight infants and preterm births. Low birth weight is a major predictor of infant mortality. Ethnic and cultural group’s disparities related to low birth weight infant and preterm infant are significantly disproportionate, affecting minority Americans. Although infant morbidity cannot be directly linked with low birth weight but it is a frequently used as a marker for poor health at birth because...
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...Mental Health Care Disparities: Consequences of Ineffectiveness and Lack of Access for Minorities Ebony Marinnie RN Rowan University Mental Health Care Disparities: Consequences of ineffectiveness and lack of access for minorities For ages mental illness has been seen as the ultimate curse. The mentally ill were seen as possessed, hidden from society, and never talked about. In America, it is estimated that 26.2 percent of people ages 18 and older suffer from a diagnosed mental disorder in a given year (Kessler,Chiu, Walters, & Demler, 2005). The aforementioned statistics reflect those that have sought or been forced into treatment. There are many left uncounted due to lack of access and ineffective treatment secondary to a number of reasons. Considering history, discrimination, personal perception, socioeconomic status, educational backgrounds and a host of other reasons many minority groups are reluctant to seek out treatment in what many may consider a system of mental health created and sustained primarily for the middle and upper-class White America. In fact, 60 percent of people with mental illnesses do not receive treatment (Kessler et al., 2005). The purpose of this paper is to discuss mental health care disparities in minority populations within American society, and to suggest some needed changes to close the gap in America. One quarter of all Americans meet the criteria for having a mental illness and a quarter of those have a disorder that significantly...
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...Disparities of healthcare in rural areas of the United States have been an enduring challenge resulting in some groups of individuals receiving less and lower quality healthcare than others and experiencing minimal health outcomes. Social determinants of health affect the outlook of mortality and morbidity rates, healthcare access, and behavioral risk factors. It is extremely important to understand how health disparities are affecting the overall health of individuals. Certain disparities are more harmful than others, so it is essential to research how to improve these circumstances and increase quality healthcare. Achieving health equality, eliminating health disparities, and improving the health of all Americans are overarching goals to...
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...Health Promotion Among Diverse Populations Marcia Maris Grand Canyon University NRS-429v November 14, 2015 The purpose of this paper is to discuss the health status of the American Indian/ Alaskan Native (AI/AN). A comparison and contrast of AI/ANs with the national average regarding the health status such as heart disease and strokes will be presented. Multifactorial barriers limiting health, and the overall factors affecting health within this population are identified. Current health status will be presented including health promotion and disparities among this US population. Primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotions will be discussed along with one approach to promoting health offered. According to the office of Management and Budget’s “American Indian or Alaskan Native” refers to one who has origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America, including Central America, and maintains ties and connections to a tribe or tribal community (United States Census Bureau, 2010). Results of the 2010 census revealed there were 5.2 million people or 1.7 percent of the population who were Native American/ Alaskan Native. Chronic diseases and risk factors among AI/AN groups remain high. When compared to white populations AI/ANs are more likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure, be obese, and smoke cigarettes ( Centers for Diseas Control, 2015). The death rates from heart disease is 20 percent greater and from strokes are 14...
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...Asthma has had a major impact on the health of Americans as well as on the US healthcare system. 1 in 11 children in America have asthma. On a similar note, 1 in 12 adults in America have asthma. Each year asthma is responsible for about 5000 deaths, nearly 500,000 hospitalizations, and 2 million visits to emergency departments. Asthma also restricts people’s activity and is the leading cause of absence from school and work. In 2008, asthma caused 10.5 million missed days of school and 14.2 million missed days of work resulting in an estimated $3.8 billion from loss of productivity. As of 2009, the economic costs of asthma totaled $56 billion per year, with the average yearly medical expenditure on a child with asthma equaling $1039. The burden of asthma falls disproportionately on some minorities and particularly on children (“Asthma Facts”). The burden of asthma falls disproportionately on children under age 18. For the period 2008–2010, asthma prevalence was higher among children than adults. This is evidenced in the rates of asthma-related use of health care services, which are two to three times higher for children than for adults. . Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15. Only the asthma mortality rate is lower for children (“Asthma Facts”) Asthma Disparities and...
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...TO: Council Members FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Rising Health Care Cost Health care in America is in crisis. Health care costs are skyrocketing. This problem is not new, nor is the recognition of it. The size, complexity, and political clout of the health care industry political distrust, particularly among people who are currently well insured and geographic diversity in spending, coverage, and delivery systems have frustrated past reforms. Furthermore, health reform means income redistribution among payers and across service providers. Health insurance premiums have doubled in the last 8 years, rising 3.7 times faster than wages in the past 8 years, and increasing co pays and deductibles threaten access to care.i_ The medical expenditure rate is now increasing more rapidly than ever, and control of medical costs has reemerged as a major national imperative. Failure to solve this problem has resulted in most of the other critical defects in the health care system. Least investment in primary prevention and public health: America faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats like bioterrorism. Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health._iii Many Americans are uninsured because of rising insurance costs: Over 45 million Americans lack health insurance.iv_ Even those with health insurance are struggling to cope with soaring medical costs. Increased healthcare costs are making it difficult...
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...Health Care Disparities Latanya Breeden Capella University Health Care Disparities America benefits when everyone has the opportunity to live a long, healthy and productive life, yet health disparities persist. A health disparity is a difference in health outcomes across subgroups of the population, often linked to social, economic, or environmental disadvantages (less access to good jobs, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of affordable transportation options). Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health on the basis of their racial or ethnic group, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age, mental health, cognitive, sensory, or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, geographic location, or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion. The issues that involved in education and lifestyle choice disparities are the socioeconomic circumstances of persons and the places where they live and work strongly influence their health. In the United States, as elsewhere, the risk for mortality, morbidity, unhealthy behaviors, reduced access to health care, and poor quality of care increases with decreasing socioeconomic circumstances. This association is continuous and graded across a population and cumulative over the life course. Educational attainment and family or household income are two indicators used commonly to assess the influence...
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...December 2, 2012 ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISPARITY IN HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA Disparity in US Health Care is multifactorial, they reflect the differences in demographics, social-economic as well as environmental factors. The Journal of the American Medical Association identifies race as a significant determinant in the level of quality of care, with ethnic minority groups receiving less intensive and lower quality care. Ethnic minorities receive less preventative care, are seen less by specialists, and have fewer expensive and technical procedures than non-ethnic minorities. Studies have shown that this disparity affects the biological vulnerability to disease, utilization of health system in US and health care interventions. Understanding and intervening in the health disparity in the US is imperative because the US population is changing. According to the American Health Association (AHA), by 2050 Minority groups will compose almost half of the U.S. population by 2050. The biggest increase will occur within the Hispanic population. In December 2007, the American Hospital Association (AHA) created the Special Advisor Group on Improving Hospital Care for Minorities as part of effort to ensure equitable treatment of all patients. This article will discuss the issues related to disparity and how the American Hospital Association is taken several steps in helping aid in eliminating the racial disparity in health care. Health disparities in the quality of care exist and are based...
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...Truth about the Income Disparity Recently, President Barack Obama announced his plan to rein in the compensation of executives and raise tax rates on capital gains. This has again brought the topic of America’s widening income gap to the front page. While it is true that the wealth of America has long been dominated by a small number of people, most Americans do not see it as economic inequality or an obstacle to the development of the economy, which can be explained from two aspects—culture and economy. Instead, the real problem is the workers’ slow-paced wage increase, especially compared with the rising health care costs. Admittedly, most of the household income and wealth in America are occupied by a small minority of people at the very top, and actually the income gap has been rising at an increasing pace for the last few years. According to the data released by the Internal Revenue Service in 2005, 21.2% of all the household income went to the top 1% of Americans, the percentage of which was just 19% in 2004, and 20.8% in 2000—the previous high hit due to the skyrocket stock market. First of all, however, are the income disparity and economic inequality the same thing? Definitely not. As pointed out by Ladd and Bowman, rooted in the concept of equality for Americans is the notion of “equality of opportunity” (33). Great disparity in income distribution among social members can be tolerated as long as they can perceive that they have the opportunity to move...
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...Effects of Culture on Asian American Health Rebecca Weiss Thomas Edison State College Community Health Nursing NUR-441 Dr. Phelps August 09, 2015 Abstract Asians are a quickly growing population in America today. They come to the United States with a dynamic culture rich in tradition, religion and health practices. Investigating the target population cultural demographics, health beliefs, illness needs, and management of illness it becomes possible to analyze how to care for them most effectively and reduce health disparities of Asians living in America. References Bussell, J. (2009). The Asian Diet . Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/The-Asian-Diet-Simple-Secrets/dp/1844091600 Center for Disease Control . (2010). http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/publications/docs/Asian_NHPI_Epi_Profile2010-20120813_01.pdf Center for Disease Control . (2013). www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/prev/national/menuage.htm Center for Disease Control . (2015). Health of Asian or Pacific Islander Population. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/asian-health.htm Chi, A. (2011). Yellow on the Outside, Shame on the Inside: Asian Culture Revealed. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Culture-Revealed-Yellow-Outside-ebook/dp/B0053E2EJI Close the Gap Health Equity for Life . (2015). http://www.your-heart-health.com/en-US/heart-disease-facts/asian-americans.html Hsu, W., Boyko, E., Fujimoto, W., Kanaya, A., Karmally, W., Karter, A., ... Arakaki, R. (2012). Pathophysiologic Differences...
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...Native Americans and Poverty About 22% of our country’s 5.2 million Native Americans live on tribal lands (2010 U.S. Census). Living conditions on the reservations have been cited as "comparable to Third World," (May 5 2004, Gallup Independent). It is impossible to specifically describe the many factors that have contributed to the challenges that Native America faces today, but the following facts about the most pressing issues of economics, health, and housing give a hint of what life is like for the first Americans. -Housing * There is a housing crisis in Indian country. Despite the Indian Housing Authority's (IHAs) recent efforts, the need for adequate housing on reservations remains small. There are 90,000 homeless or underhoused Indian families, and that 30% of Indian housing is overcrowded and less than 50% of it is connected to a public sewer (March 8, 2004, Indian Country Today). * In addition, many American Indians are living in substandard housing. About 40% of on-reservation housing is considered inadequate (2003, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). The waiting list for tribal housing is long; the wait is often three years or more, and overcrowding is inevitable. Most families will not turn away family members or anyone who needs a place to stay. It is not uncommon for 3 or more generations to live in a two-bedroom home with inadequate plumbing, kitchen facilities, cooling, and heating. * Further increasing the concerns with reservation housing is...
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...uses, attributes and how it will relate to a certain field. The goal of this paper is to convey the conceptual meaning of rurality as it relates to oral health and its impact on advanced practice nursing. Purpose The purpose if this concept analysis is to present a theoretical understanding of oral health among rural populations. Despite important links between oral health and general health, oral diseases are common and public health and prevention efforts aimed to improving oral health have lagged prevention efforts. Research shows that the key to improving oral health is through preventative care and early treatments. However, many individuals within rural communities do not have access to preventive programs and early treatment; whether it is due to financial burden, uninsured, distance to treatment, lower rates of water fluoridation or poor access to care providers. People who have the least access to preventive services and dental treatment have greater rates of oral diseases (“Oral Health”, 2013). Evidence In 2000, the United States Surgeon General’s report on “Oral Health in America” defined oral health broadly, emphasizing that oral health is “integral to general health; oral health means more than healthy teeth and that you cannot be healthy without oral health.” The World Health Organization defines oral health as “a state of being free from mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancer, oral infection and sores, periodontal (gum) disease, tooth decay, tooth loss...
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...Heath Status of The Latino or Hispanic Population Maria Funez NRS-429V Family-Center Health Promotions February 29, 2015 Heath Status of The Latino or Hispanic Population Hispanics migrate to the United States for many different reasons but one of the most powerful motivators of migration whether legal or illegal is economic instability within the countries of origin. Although, is dangerous crossing the Mexican boarder to reached the U.S. the hopes for a better life is a powerful motivator to risk one’s life. Once in the U.S. Many Hispanics assimilate to the American life by means of education, learning a trade, and obtaining good paying jobs. Others have a harder time to assimilate to American culture due to the inability to learn the language, lack of education, or skills to facilitate better paying jobs. The Hispanic or Latino population in the United States has become one of the fastest growing minority groups in the country. According, to the United States Census Bureau (2010), there are 50.5 millions Hispanic or Latinos living in the United States. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010, p.2). Nevertheless, the Hispanic population is facing many challenges; some of those challenges are associated to health. In deed, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the health status, how is health promotions define, and what health disparities’ exist for the Hispanic or Latino population in the U.S. According to Smith et al. (as cited by Page-Reeves, Nifaratus, Mishra, Gingrich, &...
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