Health Disparities in the African American Cultures

Grand Canyon University
February 14, 2016

Health Disparities in the African American Culture

Health care disparities affect every group of ethnic minorities. These groups include African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiian, American Indian/Alaskan Natives or multiracial people. Racial and ethnic disparities are one of the many factors that produce inequalities in the health status of an individual in the United States. Whether it is caused by the quality of care, assess to care or insurance coverage. All cause problems for these cultures.

In the 2000 census, 36.4 million persons, approximately 12.9% of the U.S. population, identified themselves as Black or African American; 35.4 million of these persons identified themselves as non-Hispanic (cdc, 2012). In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the United States had almost 38.8 million Black or African American (12.9% of the U.S. population); more than 45.5 million Hispanics or Latinos (15.1%); almost 13.4 million Asians (4.4%); more than 0.5 million Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) (0.2%) and more than 2.9 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/ANS) (1.0%) of whom 57% reside on federal trust lands (archive. ahrq,2014). African Americans by both censuses only make up 12.9% of the U.S. population but suffer ethnic and racial disparities at a high rate. This may be due to the lack of education, loss of insurance or the lack of quality health care. One would think that with the advancements in health care this would not be an issue. But it is.
In a 2002 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) annual National Healthcare Disparities