Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

Abstract

The Institute of Medicine defines disparities as "racial or ethnic differences in the quality of health care that are not due to access-related factors or clinical needs, preferences, and appropriateness of intervention." Racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive poorer quality care compared with nonminorities, even when access-related factors, such as insurance status and income, are controlled.The sources of racial and ethnic health care disparities include differences in geography, lack of access to adequate health coverage, communication difficulties between patient and provider, cultural barriers, provider stereotyping, and lack of access to providers. In addition, disparities in the health care system contribute to the overall disparities in health status that affect racial and ethnic minorities. Why is it Important to Correct These Disparities?The problem of racial and ethnic health care disparities is highlighted in various statistics:• Minorities have less access to health care than whites. The level of uninsurance for Hispanics is 34% compared with 13% among whites.• Native Americans and Native Alaskans more often lack prenatal care in the first trimester.• Nationally, minority women are more likely to avoid a doctor's visit due to cost.• Racial and ethnic minority Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with dementia are 30% less likely than whites to use antidementia medications.ACP is strongly committed to advocating for increased access to quality health care for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or other factors. Accordingly, the mission of ACP is "to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine." The College believes that racial and ethnic disparities in health care are unacceptable and supports policies that increase access to health care for all, invest in preventive care, create a more diverse health care workforce, address social determinants of health, and expand research into the causes and solutions regarding racial and ethnic health disparities. Key Findings and Recommendations from the Paper ACP recommends the following:• Providing all legal residents with affordable health insurance is an essential part of eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care.• All patients, regardless of race, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, primary language, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, cultural background, age, disability, or religion, deserve high-quality health care.• As our society increasingly becomes racially and ethnically diverse, physicians and other health care professionals need to acknowledge the cultural, informational, and linguistic needs of their patients. Health literacy among racial and ethnic minorities must be strengthened in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner.• Physicians and other health care professionals must be sensitive to cultural diversity among patients and recognize that preconceived perceptions of minority patients may play a role in their...

Discrimination of residents during neurosurgical training in Mexico: Results of a survey prior to SARS-CoV-2

“…[ 16 , 23 ] Other authors have published that racial and gender diversity has been associated with better patient outcomes and quality of care. [ 11 , 17 , 21 , 26 ] Although this was not an objective in our study, we consider that our results constitute areas of opportunity to be considered in subsequent studies. Our study provides initial information to analyze in a further research the causes related to the association between discrimination and academic productivity affected by gender or ethnicity.…”