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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Health Care: A Chartbook |
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From The Commonwealth Fund: Research shows that minorities in the United States are in poorer health, have more trouble accessing care, are more likely to be uninsured, and receive lower-quality care more often than other Americans. This new collection of charts can serve as a valuable resource for understanding disparities and formulating solutions. While these problems affect people of all groups and walks of life, the challenges are especially acute for racial and ethnic minorities. Myriad research studies and reports have documented that minorities are in poorer health, experience more significant problems accessing care, are more likely to be uninsured, and often receive lower quality health care than other Americans.1,2 These differences may be caused in part by factors such as income, education, and insurance coverage. But even after adjusting for these determinants, disparities often persist. Given the rapidly growing diversity of this nation, an increasing number of minority Americans find themselves at risk of disease and not getting the care they need. Many studies have pointed to the role of bias, miscommunication, lack of trust, and financial and access barriers in allowing disparities to occur. This chartbook also reflects emerging evidence that disparities may be a function of the overall performance of the health system where one lives, or of the quality of providers that care for many minorities. Understanding these underlying dynamics will help policy makers and health professionals design the most effective strategies for reducing disparities. Disparities in Coverage provides a snapshot of why insurance coverage varies by race and ethnicity. Disparities in Quality documents that racial and ethnic disparities exist across all the domains of quality articulated by the Institute of Medicine. Strategies for Closing the Gap includes a sample of the modest but growing body of knowledge on strategies that may lessen or eliminate disparities in health and health care.
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