What Are Health Disparities and How Can We Eliminate Them?
By Samantha Koshenina
Health Disparities Overview
In the healthcare system, not everyone is able to access, afford and use services that are essential to their health. With the rising rate of inflation and drive for profit in medical practice, costs are skyrocketing for those who can barely afford the care. Affordability comes along with accessibility, as it is important for a given person to receive care to be able to access when needed in non-emergency and emergency situations.
Many low-income individuals and those of minority groups often suffer the most from health care disparities. Many communities in which one or both of these factors are present, tend to lack the necessary resources and care, which highlights further disparities. People of low income and minority groups often suffer lifelong difficulties due to this issue, to the point of becoming life threatening. Minorities also are susceptible to becoming more financially burdened from receiving care due to common income gaps.
Research on Racial and Ethnic Disparities
Minorities and low-income individuals are often ones who suffer from healthcare disparities due to many factors. The Improve Group (2016) includes factors of housing instability and homelessness, insufficient access to healthy food, access to childcare, access to transportation, and low education, as factors that can make someone not able to obtain or receive care. When these factors are mixed together, the chance that one will receive care is slightly less than average for emergency services and significantly less than average for non-emergency services.
The Minnesota Department of Health Office and Minority and Multicultural Health (2008) concludes that one major disparity in the health care system is language barriers and representation. The system fails to provide more providers who are multilingual and represent those of the patient or community. They found that many patients did not trust providers that were not competent in their language and did not represent them or the community, which ultimately can be a deciding factor when deciding whether or not to receive care.
Asare et. al. (2017) studies how the importance of research in the medical field is key to reducing disparities. They conclude that many economic factors are the reasons why disparities exist, and these factors limit minority participation in research opportunities. Minorities are less often represented in published medical books and in college/university classes, which limits knowledge to the providers.
Ways to Eliminate Health Disparities
The Minnesota Department of Health Office and Minority and Multicultural Health (2008) takes a deeper look at why health disparities happen and ways to address disparities within the health care system. They mention that overhauling the current health programs and changing them to be more inclusive, would positively benefit access to care. They suggest adding inclusive factors such as allowing more than just individual health care (e.g. family care), allowing follow-up or ongoing services, increasing diversity of health care providers, and including transportation and food programs. Programs and services should be changed too. The MN Department of Minority and Multicultural Health suggest that programs should include community involvement, data-driven programing, comfortable settings, trust, and culturally competent services. Trust and culturally competent services were two major factors that were found to be important in eliminating health care disparities.
Asare et. al. (2017) concludes that every part of the health care system, from research to programing and to services, needs to be diversified. By creating diversification, it will help reduce the amount of health care disparities specifically for minority groups. What you could do now is to get involved in sharing the need for change. Point out disparities whenever possible to advocate for the basic human right of health care.
References
Asare, M., Flannery, M., & Kamen, C. (2017, January 2). Social Determinants of Health: A framework for studying cancer health disparities and minority participation in Research. Oncology nursing forum. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5583708/
Minnesota Department of Health and Office of Minority and Multicultural Health. (2008, April). Minnesota's Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative. Minnesota Legislature. https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/equity/ehdi/reports/ehdireport4080812.pdf
The Improve Group. (2016, March 1). Health Disparities Project: Social Risk Factors that Limit Wellness, and Potential Mitigating Supports. Minnesota Legislature. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/edocs/edocs?oclcnumber=970661471