Minority Health & Health Disparities (2024)

FAQs

What are the health disparities of minorities? ›

The data show that racial and ethnic minority groups, throughout the United States, experience higher rates of illness and death across a wide range of health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and heart disease, when compared to their White counterparts.

Compared to their white counterparts, African Americans are generally at higher risk for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, according to the Office of Minority Health, part of the Department for Health and Human Services.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities.

Health disparities include the following: Mortality. Life expectancy. Burden of disease.

Education and Training. There is also a need for intensive and systematic educational campaigns about the problem of racial inequities in health care. The awareness levels of the public and professional community, especially the medical community, must be raised.

Poverty. Across economic indicators, vast disparities exist between African Americans and whites that mirror the proportions seen in health disparities. Due to structural barriers, African Americans are more likely to be poor than white Americans and are less likely to have a full-time worker in the household.

This is achieved by increasing awareness on various issues such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and body stature, among several others. Orientation programs are also used to promote diversity in the healthcare workforce.

For NIH, populations that experience health disparities include: Racial and ethnic minority groups (see NOT-OD-15-089 and OMB Directive 15). People with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Underserved rural communities.

People with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Underserved rural communities. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups.

What are disparities in healthcare? ›

Health disparities are differences and/or gaps in the quality of health and healthcare across racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups.

The negative repercussions of health disparities go beyond just the individual and extend to their children, whole communities, and society at large. Disparities in health and healthcare not only affect the groups facing disparities, but also limit overall gains in quality of care and health for the broader population.

Many factors contribute to health disparities, including genetics, access to care, poor quality of care, community features (e.g., inadequate access to healthy foods, poverty, limited personal support systems and violence), environmental conditions (e.g., poor air quality), language barriers and health behaviors.

Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; ...

Study participants articulated many ways in which unequal health care access, insurance differences, limited time, lack of interpreters, and—among some providers—bias, labeling, and stereotypes contribute to racial differences in patient experience and treatments.

Disparities in quality of care are common:

# Blacks and AI/ANs received worse care than Whites for about 40% of measures. # Asians received worse care than Whites for about 20% of measures. # Hispanics received worse care than non- Hispanic Whites for about 60% of core measures.

For NIH, populations that experience health disparities include: Racial and ethnic minority groups (see NOT-OD-15-089 and OMB Directive 15). People with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Underserved rural communities.