Health Care Disparities

Abstract

Health Care disparities are commonly discussed in today’s society. Health care disparities can be defined as the quality and availability of one’s access to healthcare, and it depends on the social determinants that define a person. These determinates include socioeconomic status (SES), mental health status, the community one lives in, and race. ‘The term “health disparities” is often defined as “a difference in which disadvantaged social groups such as the poor, racial/ethnic minorities, women and other groups who have persistently experienced social disadvantage or discrimination systematically experience worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged social groups’” (Racial and Ethnic Health Care Disparities, n.d.). Although Healthcare disparities have recently gained more attention by the healthcare community such as the Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010, and the Healthy People 2020 initiative, further efforts must be applied to fully understand how to significantly reduce disparities. To begin to understand the deeply-rooted effects of health care disparities, the past treatment of low-socioeconomic and racial minorities must be explored. Gaining an understanding of the atrocities from the past, can lead to an appreciation of how those experiences shape how present day medical care is viewed. Moving forward, healthcare professionals must develop ideas on how to reduce these disparities by diversifying the field, and truly practicing with cultural competence.