Question

This week’s assignment will focus on health disparities in healthcare such as rur-al Americans, Americans of low socioeconomic status, race, gender, LGBT, etc. Is this disparity an actual disparity or is it a perceived disparity? Find information that supports and information that is critical of your disparity choice. Choose any ONE health disparity and prepare a critical review. Support your review with at least 3 articles discussing/critiquing the health disparity you chose to review.

Answer 1

• In the United States, blacks, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, premature death, and disability. For persons of these racial/ethnic minority populations, health disparities can mean lower life expectancy, decreased quality of life, loss of economic opportunities, and perceptions of injustice.
• For society, these disparities translate into decreased productivity, increased health-care costs, and social inequity. By 2050, racial/ethnic minorities will account for nearly 50% of the total U.S. population. If these populations continue to experience poor health status, the expected demographic changes will magnify the adverse impact of such disparities on public health in the United States.
• Socioeconomic factors (e.g., education, employment, and poverty), lifestyle behaviors (e.g., physical activity, alcohol intake, and tobacco use), social environment (e.g., educational and economic opportunities and neighborhood and work conditions), and access to clinical preventive services (e.g., cancer screening and vaccination) contribute to racial/ethnic health disparities.
• Level of education has been correlated with the prevalence of certain health risks (e.g., obesity, lack of physical activity, and cigarette smoking).
• In addition, recent immigration might increase risks for chronic disease and injury among certain populations. Although some immigrants are highly educated and have high incomes, lack of familiarity with the U.S. health-care system, different cultural attitudes about the use of traditional and conventional medicine, and lack of fluency in English can pose barriers to obtaining appropriate health care.
• Obesity, a condition which has many associated chronic diseases and debilitating conditions, affects racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately as well. This has major implications for the quality of life and wellbeing for these population groups and their families. From 2011 to 2014, Hispanic children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 had the highest prevalence of obesity in the United States (21.9 percent), and Asians had the lowest (8.6 percent) (NCHS, 2016).
• Nearly 78 million adults and 13 million children in the United States deal with the health and emotional effects of obesity every day.
• Children living in low-income neighborhoods are 20 percent to 60 percent more likely to be obese or overweight than children living in high socioeconomic status neighborhoods and healthier built environments.
• Girls (ages 10 to 17) living in neighbor- hoods having lower socioeconomic characteristics are more likely to be obese (19.2 percent) and overweight (35.7 percent) than are girls living in neighborhoods having higher socioeconomic characteristics.
• In every country worldwide, whether transitional economies or developed ones, noncommunicable chronic conditions like obesity are either on the rise or have already reached alarming levels [24]. While low socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with a higher prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases in developed countries, previous studies, in developing nations, have shown a positive SES-obesity relationship. More recently, the SES-obesity relationship in developing countries has been reported to bear similarities to that in developed ones. (Overweight and Obesity Epidemic in Developing Countries: A Problem with Diet, Physical Activity, or Socioeconomic Status? by Trishnee Bhurosy and Rajesh Jeewon)