Healthcare disparities exist among racial/ethnic minorities in the United States. It 's a basic human right to receive the highest quality of care regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, and the level of treatment or quality of care people receive should not be determined by their race or ethnicity. Although people are aware of this, yet not everyone gets the same quality of care or treatment in the U.S. The United States spends more money on healthcare delivery than most developed countries, and yet the quality of healthcare is lower than most of the developed countries due to healthcare disparities among racial/ethnic minorities (Lavizzo-Mourey, R., 2008). Racial/ethnic minorities are more likely to disproportionately suffer from healthcare
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The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health defined culture in context of health behavior as “unique shared values, beliefs, and practices that are directly associated with a health-related behavior, indirectly associated with a behavior, or influence acceptance and adoption of the health education message, and others have defined culture as learned and shared beliefs, values, and life ways of a designed or particular group which are generally transmitted intergenerational and influence one’s thinking and actin modes.” (Egede, L. E., 2006). Therefore, it is very important for the healthcare providers to include the appropriate measures that capture such cultural traits of their client for the ultimate healthcare outcome (Egede, 2006). One study found that healthcare providers in primary care settings are often challenged by the cultural differences between them and their patients that may inhibit effective and satisfactory healthcare outcome (S.J., et al., 2009). In the same study it was suggested that in order to reduce healthcare disparities among racial/ethnic minorities, culturally appropriate healthcare or culturally competent care have to take place in the healthcare settings (S.J., et al., 2009). Culture and language barrier between healthcare providers and racial/ethnic minorities is one of the issues associated with healthcare disparities and immigrants are the most affected by this
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health defined culture in context of health behavior as “unique shared values, beliefs, and practices that are directly associated with a health-related behavior, indirectly associated with a behavior, or influence acceptance and adoption of the health education message, and others have defined culture as learned and shared beliefs, values, and life ways of a designed or particular group which are generally transmitted intergenerational and influence one’s thinking and actin modes.” (Egede, L. E., 2006). Therefore, it is very important for the healthcare providers to include the appropriate measures that capture such cultural traits of their client for the ultimate healthcare outcome (Egede, 2006). One study found that healthcare providers in primary care settings are often challenged by the cultural differences between them and their patients that may inhibit effective and satisfactory healthcare outcome (S.J., et al., 2009). In the same study it was suggested that in order to reduce healthcare disparities among racial/ethnic minorities, culturally appropriate healthcare or culturally competent care have to take place in the healthcare settings (S.J., et al., 2009). Culture and language barrier between healthcare providers and racial/ethnic minorities is one of the issues associated with healthcare disparities and immigrants are the most affected by this