Health disparities in the U.S. are a persistent problem especially in this day and age—where minorities make up the most of our diverse population. The measures to reduce health disparities focuses on several prominent, recurring themes; (1) how persistent health disparities are, (2) the economic condition, (3) race and discrimination, (4) geographic location, (5) raising awareness on the issue of health disparities, (6) shaping or integrating better health policies, (7) the function of a community in developing plans to tackle health disparities, and (8) the promising Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Anderson, et al., 2012). Certainly, there are many other topics encased in health disparities that need to be addressed. However,
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Generally, whites have better health statuses than racial/ethnic minorities. Why is this so? Certainly, there are a number of factors associated with this problem such as one’s socioeconomic status and social support, but one of the main reasons is mistrust and/or communication difficulties with one’s physician. A patient-physician non-concordance relationship impacts disparities in patient satisfaction and delivery of health care services due to trust and communication barriers. In fact, there are numerous studies that examine trust and communication between a patient and his/her doctor on two racial groups, namely, whites and another minority group (i.e. blacks). Findings indicated, “Patients who were married and had more social support reported more trust, whereas patients who were unemployed and perceived more institutional or interpersonal racial discrimination in health care reported less trust” (Hausmann, et al., 2013). Thus, the level of cultural competency in health care professions is the foundation of a strong patient-physician relationship and will lead to better health and health care outcomes in the U.S. However, this poses one question, how can we measure levels of cultural competency and what constitutes a satisfactory …show more content…
In order to address racial and ethnic health disparities, we need to support required translation services for non-english speakers, promote a healthcare interpreting profession as essential to a health care organization, and make improvements/adjustments to the current National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS). It is here that we will see an improvement in overall satisfaction in health care services and delivery for minority groups and a stronger bond with his/her physician. As for addressing the socioeconomic status on health disparities, we need to implement policies that ensure coverage for all individuals in poverty, or figure out a method in which we are able to distribute an ample amount of wealth to those who cannot afford to be insured, although both methods are no simple matter. However, we can also implement policies aimed at better accessibility to education and job opportunities, which will face less opposition, but improve the quality of life of those in
Generally, whites have better health statuses than racial/ethnic minorities. Why is this so? Certainly, there are a number of factors associated with this problem such as one’s socioeconomic status and social support, but one of the main reasons is mistrust and/or communication difficulties with one’s physician. A patient-physician non-concordance relationship impacts disparities in patient satisfaction and delivery of health care services due to trust and communication barriers. In fact, there are numerous studies that examine trust and communication between a patient and his/her doctor on two racial groups, namely, whites and another minority group (i.e. blacks). Findings indicated, “Patients who were married and had more social support reported more trust, whereas patients who were unemployed and perceived more institutional or interpersonal racial discrimination in health care reported less trust” (Hausmann, et al., 2013). Thus, the level of cultural competency in health care professions is the foundation of a strong patient-physician relationship and will lead to better health and health care outcomes in the U.S. However, this poses one question, how can we measure levels of cultural competency and what constitutes a satisfactory …show more content…
In order to address racial and ethnic health disparities, we need to support required translation services for non-english speakers, promote a healthcare interpreting profession as essential to a health care organization, and make improvements/adjustments to the current National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS). It is here that we will see an improvement in overall satisfaction in health care services and delivery for minority groups and a stronger bond with his/her physician. As for addressing the socioeconomic status on health disparities, we need to implement policies that ensure coverage for all individuals in poverty, or figure out a method in which we are able to distribute an ample amount of wealth to those who cannot afford to be insured, although both methods are no simple matter. However, we can also implement policies aimed at better accessibility to education and job opportunities, which will face less opposition, but improve the quality of life of those in