Health disparities refer to variations that exist in the health status of diverse groups of people. The different groups can be classified based on sex or gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, race, disability, geographic area of residence and income (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). Based on this classification, it is normally evident that some groups of people record higher rates of suffering and deaths from some diseases when compared to other groups (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). The disparities and the effects they have on healthcare outcomes are outlined below.
Question 1
Race or ethnicity plays a very critical role in healthcare in the United States, various studies that have been carried out indicates that there is serious racial/ethnic disparity in healthcare. Race and ethnic background play a greater role in healthcare in U.S. through ways such as health insurance cover, access, and quality care. These factors have for a very long time contributed to racial/ethnic inequalities in U.S healthcare. It is projected that the population of racial/ethnic minorities such as African Americans, Hispanic/Latino, Asians, American Indian and Pacific Islanders is set to increase by the year 20150 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2016). This will further complicate the already existing health disparity among minority groups.
Some examples of healthcare disparities affecting members of various minority groups include health insurance; this is an important aspect of healthcare because it determines whether and when a person can get essential medical care. Ethnic minority groups such as African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionally covered compared to the whites. Those without a health cover are less likely to get appropriate care hence prone to hospitalizations resulting from preventable circumstances. There is also evidence of disparity in quality of care between the Whites and Hispanics, African Americans and Asians (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2014).
Question 2
Some of the medical problems that are more common among the minority groups when compared with non-Hispanic whites are poor health outcomes, chronic conditions and higher rates of mortalities. An instance is the rates of cancer, compared with the whites, Africans Americans rates of cancer are 10% more than the rates among the non-Hispanic Whites (Mandal, 2016). Another disproportionate medical problem among the minority groups is diabetes. Studies show that Latinos and African Americans are twice more likely to suffer from diabetes than the Whites, this clearly shows that minority groups, based on their population are affected by diabetes more than the Whites.
Moreover, Hispanics/Latinos which are also a minority group incidence of asthma is three times more than that of the whites, while for the African Americans is 28% more. Heart diseases are also more common in African Americans than the whites, mortality rates resulting from heart-related diseases is 40% higher in African Americans than non-Hispanic whites. Also, infectious diseases affect minority groups more than the Whites. Hepatitis C, for example, affect more than 22% of African Americans whose population is only 13% that of total U.S. population. STDs such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and Chlamydia affects African Americans more than the Whites (Mandal, 2016).
Question 3
Various studies show that patients from minority racial background in the United States are at a higher risk of being undertreated in acute pain, with an analgesic in emergency rooms. A review of long-bone fractures patients under analgesics treatment that was done by Todd and colleagues showed that Hispanic and African American patients were two times more likely to get no analgesics compared to the Whites. Several factors can be attributed to the disparities in the findings of this study. One is pain disparities; different racial and ethnic groups have different pain tolerance and thresholds (Anderson et al., 2009). Beliefs and attitudes on pain also differ significantly with racial and ethnic groups. Another factor that determines the level of patient care provided is the expectations and beliefs of minority group patients by health providers. Lack of health insurance cover among the minority ethnic groups also acts as a barrier to optimal pain management among minority group’s patients.
Question 4
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a condition in which kidneys fail totally and permanently. A person suffering from ESRD needs to undergo dialysis to remove body fluid wastes which if left are harmful, an ESRD patient may also undergo kidney transplant to replace the failed kidneys (National Kidney Foundation, 2016). Studies show that ESRD frequency among African Americans is four times higher than that of the Whites (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney diseases, 2016). This increased risk of ESRD among American Americans is contributed by a number of factors. One is that the high rates of diabetes and high blood pressure among African Americans contributes significantly to chronic kidney diseases which if left untreated progresses to ESRD stage.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2014). Disparities in Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups | AHRQ Archive. Retrieved from http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr10/minority.html
Anderson, K. O., Green, C. R., & Payne, R. (2009). Racial and ethnic disparities in pain: causes and consequences of unequal care. The Journal of Pain, 10(12), 1187-1204.
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2016). Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options? | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from http://kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/eliminating-racialethnic-disparities-in-health-care-what/
Mandal, A. (2016). What are Health Disparities? Retrieved from http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Health-Disparities.aspx
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney diseases. (2016). Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States. Retrieved from http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/Pages/kidney-disease-statistics-united-states.aspx#16
National Kidney Foundation. (2016). About Chronic Kidney Disease - The National Kidney Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.kidney.org/kidneydisease/aboutckd
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Health Disparities: MedlinePlus. Retrieved from https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthdisparities.html
