Health inequality refers to the presence of systematic disparities in health or between the determinants of health between groups that have different social advantage for instance wealth, prestige and power (Boe, 2009). Health equity refers to the opposite of health inequality.
In the US, there exists different ethnicities and there are both instances of inequality and others that exude equity. In the US is there are significant disparities in the prevalence of several chronic diseases. In most cases the diseases prevalence is higher in African Americans than it is for white Americans (Virginia Department of Health, 2013). The cancer incidences among African Americans are 10% more that they are among the whites (Nelson, 2002). I think this would amount to a health inequity since the factors leading to cancer (genetics and lifestyle) are mostly out of control by healthcare providers and therefore unequal treatment does not come into play as to make such a disparity a health inequity.
A good example of a healthcare inequity would be the prescription of asthma medication to children from different races. After showing signs of asthma, only 7% of children of African descent were prescribed with medication to prevent future asthma-related attacks. This contrasts the more than 20% of white children prescribed with the same medication (to prevent future asthma attacks) (Hurst, 2007).
The rate of diabetes is 2.6 times higher among Native Americans than it is for whites. This figure is quite significant while the factors contributing to diabetes, point towards this high prevalence as a health inequity. Although diabetes can be inherited from one’s parents, it is mainly caused by an extravagant lifestyle that is marked by drugs and poor dieting.
The disparities that arise in the number of people who passed away due to road accidents cannot amount to health inequity since there is no criterion that one can use to validate claims of inequality between races or any groups of people.
References
Boe, G. (2009). The scoreboard on racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Journal of Continuing Education Topics & Issues.
Hurst, C. E. (2007). Chapter 10: The impact of inequality on personal life chances. Social inequality (6th ed., pp. 243-251). Boston: Pearson.
Nelson, A. (2002). Unequal treatment: confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Journal of the National Medical Association, 94(8).
Virginia department of Health. What is health Inequity? Retrieved 31 May 2013 from http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/OMHHE/healthequity/unnaturalcauses/healthequity.htm
