Essay Example on Health Disparities in America

Health disparities refer to the differences that are found among certain population sets in the United States regarding the achievement of a complete health potential, which is only measured using variations in prevalence, the burden of illness, mortality, and incidence, among other negative health statuses. While disparities are usually applied to reflect a variation between ethnic or racial groups and exist among several dimensions, including sexual orientation, disability status, age, geographic location, gender, and socioeconomic condition. More significantly, Healthy People 2020 programs suggest that such factors integrated with ethnicity and race can transform people’s ability to realize optimum health (National Center for Health Statistics, 2016). More imperatively, the available evidence surrounding America’s health disparities has often demonstrated differential health results both within and across such distinctive groups. Notably, health disparities can originate from health inequalities; thus, the variation among the health communities and groups that hold unequal positions in the society which are unjust (Philbin et al., 2018). Therefore, these are the disparities that are reflected in society and across the United States. The paper seeks to discuss health disparities that affect different population groups in America.

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More imperatively, ethnicity, and race are socially categorized groups that significantly impact people’s lives who are defined by how they are perceived by other groups (Meyer et al., 2013). Therefore, it is worth understanding the social construction, which was formed from the historical policies, practices, and prevailing social perceptions regarding ethnicity and race. It has a fundamental influence on how measures of the race have been applied and altered over time. Understandably, the Native Americans are a fundamentally important population considered for health equity, specifically at the community level. There is a vast population of about 5.4 million who are Native Americans. They form approximately two percent of the US population, with about 44% recognized as other races (National Center for Health Statistics, 2016).

The federal government has recognized around 567 tribes of Native America and others who are not acknowledged (Philbin et al., 2018). Unlike other ethnic and racial minorities in the country, the Native Americans have legal rights regarding the federal government’s healthcare services. Although they have such rights, their current health condition is even worse compared to other groups, which has been contributed by the legal and historical issues. Despite the enhancement of the Native American health in many parts of the country, which has been contributed by the formation of Indian Health Service (HIS), especially on sanitation and prevention of infectious disease, ethnic and racial disparities in health have perpetuated this group. According to the National Interview Health Survey (NIHS), about 13% of the Native Americans often report poor health conditions compared to approximately nine percent of the total population (Philbin et al., 2018).

Similarly, the sexual minority groups, including gay, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgender individuals have experienced different barriers to healthcare; for example, this group has been excluded from the healthcare insurance, provider-associated discriminations, and psychosocial biasness as well as the mismatch between their needs and the care services that are made available for them in the United States. Such mismatch has occurred when the existing services are intentionally or unintentionally created and offered with an intended motive. For example, in the United States, such groups may not receive the standard screening for breast cancer, especially from transgender men, even when they are consistently at risk (Meyer et al., 2013). Considering the intimate violence among partners, other issues such as victims of a same-sex couple and distinguishing perpetrators affect this population (National Center for Health Statistics, 2016). However, some intimate partner violence-based services are organized to support heterosexual females who have been abused by the male partners; therefore, social service agencies and healthcare providers do not understand how to hand the issues affecting these minority groups, though there are training programs designed to address them.

Additionally, there are critical challenges that are experienced by transgender individuals, and they may require some complex surgeries and administration of sex-hormones that take a longer time. It requires a strong dependence on the healthcare system, and the insurers cannot compensate for full expenses. Unfortunately, these services demand more resources, which cannot be realized by the low-income of this population and their health insurance. Another gap in receiving care captures lesbian women because they do not believe in the risk concerning sexually transmitted infections (Meyer et al., 2013). They are not bothered to participate in the STI testing due to the notion of a low-risk group, but they are vulnerable; thus, lesbians are not given access to such care.

Notably, the increased cost of healthcare greatly impacts health disparities and adversely affects people’s lives. It is because many people in the United States are not granted access to adequate health insurance to cover the increasing cost of care; thus, whether paying for blood pressure treatment or life-saving surgery; hence, they pay from their pockets. The report shows that approximately 62% of the population was bankrupt in 2007 because they utilized the money in covering medical expenses (Philbin et al., 2018). Therefore, offering accessible and affordable universal care is fundamental in addressing hospital and medical costs. Understandably, there is disparity among the population, and some groups of people may not afford to pay for all healthcare costs. A report by the Institute of Medicine indicated that more than 50% of the uninsured population do not access healthcare, and over 15000 people die because they lack insurances (National Center for Health Statistics, 2016). Thus, the gap in access to care usually prevents the majority from receiving the attention they require concerning the treatment and other healthcare services.

More importantly, the minority always experience more challenges than white Americans regarding access to care, and black Americans usually delay receiving care. Also, access to healthcare does not mean high quality; therefore, the minority group fails to access quality care due to inadequate resources. Also, health disparities have been portrayed among the people with disabilities, and because they account for about 12% of the total population in the United States, their needs concerning healthcare should be met (Philbin et al., 2018). Unfortunately, this group has reported healthcare challenges compared to healthy individuals, for example, an increased rate of people diagnosed with heart diseases and diabetes. Understandably, there is a great gap in the US’s healthcare system, and the people who often fall prey are disabled.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that health disparities are significant challenges in America, and it has cost the country a lot. Notably, ethnic and racial groups have been portrayed as a critical factor contributing to health disparities. For instance, the Native Americans have been granted the right to healthcare services provided by the federal government as opposed to their counterparts. Also, the minority such as lesbians, gay, and transgender have been excluded from health insurance; thereby, create health disparities. The other important factor is the high cost of medications that the minority cannot afford due to limited resources and low income.

References

Meyer, P. A., Yoon, P. W., & Kaufmann, R. B. (2013). Introduction: CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report-United States, 2013. MMWR Supplements, 62(3), 3-5. https://europepmc.org/article/med/24264483

National Center for Health Statistics. (2016). Health, United States, 2015: With special feature on racial and ethnic health disparities. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27308685/

Philbin, M. M., Flake, M., Hatzenbuehler, M. L., & Hirsch, J. S. (2018). State-level immigration and immigrant-focused policies as drivers of Latino health disparities in the United States. Social Science & Medicine, 199, 29-38. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617302307