Healthcare disparities among minorities are a significant challenge that has been extensively documented over the past few decades. The evidence gathered highlights the unequal distribution of health and disease states among various population groups. Some illustrative examples include:
Infant Mortality
: The infant mortality rate for black babies remains nearly 2.5 times higher than for white babies.
Life Expectancy
: The life expectancy for black men and women is nearly 1 decade fewer years of life compared with their white counterparts.
Diabetes Rates
: Diabetes rates are more than 30% higher among Native Americans and Latinos than among whites.
Death Rates
: Rates of death attributable to heart disease, stroke, and prostate and breast cancers remain much higher in black populations.
Under-representation in Healthcare Workforce
: Minorities remain grossly under-represented in the health profession’s workforce relative to their proportions in the population .
Factors Contributing to Healthcare Disparities
The challenge of healthcare disparities among minorities is further emphasized by the cost and access to medical care. Clear disparities exist in rates of health in various minority groups. Factors affecting health equity, known as social determinants of health, play a significant role in perpetuating these disparities. These factors include demographic and socioeconomic aspects such as age, income, race, and ethnicity. Communities can work together to prevent health disparities by developing policies, programs, and systems based on a health equity framework and community needs .
Research and Initiatives
Efforts to address the challenge of healthcare disparities among minorities involve research and initiatives focused on understanding and addressing the complex, multi-faceted nature of minority health and health disparities. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) is actively involved in research, training, research capacity and infrastructure development, public education, and information dissemination programs to improve minority health and reduce health disparities. The institute focuses on conducting and supporting research activities to improve the health of racial and ethnic minorities and underserved populations , .
Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
In addressing the opioid epidemic, projects are encouraged to focus on NIH-designated health disparity populations in the United States, which include Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations of any race, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities. Collaboration among relevant stakeholders in these health disparity population groups is encouraged to generate better-informed hypotheses and enhance the translation of research results into practice .