Health disparities
Health disparities are sometimes known as inequities in health. Health inequity is the difference presented in the quality of healthcare. There are lots of disparities in the U.S more so in regards to the health care system. The inequities result from; complex inequality by the system and also historical injustices. The disparities have caused an uproar among health experts, physicians. The commotion has rejuvenated attempts by the federal government agencies dealing in health to put more focus on the matter. Some of the dimensions of health inequities include ethnicity and race. There is much need for the authority in charge to give a proper definition of the problem and curve a way forward that will best deal with the vice.
Racial and ethnic inequities in healthcare are the main issues that need addressing .they pose a significant dilemma in the healthcare system of U.S.A. Even with all the cutting edge technologies, health facilities and even pharmacotherapeutics, they are still not accessible to a group of people in the country (Paradies Y)To the people of colour, racism is a social and cultural occurrence that, through discrimination, exclusion and also prejudice. And it is a cause for health inequities. It is true that in most research, racism depicted is on African American; however, other minority groups also experience racism even though the experience may differ from the African American experience. Hispanics, Asians, are subject to assumptions that since they are not U.S. citizens and therefore lack the social entitlements and rights deemed for U.S. residents.
From different researches, it is clear that people of colour have historically faced more significant barriers in their quest for proper health access and even health insurance compared to their white counterparts. That is why even some diseases like heart complications breathing complications mortality rates are higher in blacks; for example, has widened.Even before the Report by Margaret Heckler, who was then the health secretary was released, the black nation and the minority groups were still enduring health disparities compared to the whites. She termed the disparity as an outrage both to the countries ongoing brilliance and ideals. Thirty years after the release of the Report, the coloured nation still faces unacceptable health inequities. The Report suggests a clear lack of progress on health equity during the past years in the United States. that is the sad reality.
There are lots of physical and human-made environment factors that may have influence on the health of people. The factors include; weather, quality of housing, topography and also the quality of air that the people breathe. Systemic mechanisms may function at the community level or higher maybe through policy . A disease like asthma and cardiovascular disease (CVD) which is associated with segregated housing. Colored people tend to live in the lowly estates and places close proximity to the toxic waste due to their poor income. Such locations generally have negative impact in regards to health. No proper health care is given to people in such places. Placing a hazard in a minority community not only increases the risk of adverse exposures for the residents of that community, it also ensures the reduction of risk for residents of the nonminority community (Cushing et al., 2015; Taylor, 2014) . That is why from Report submitted from different health bodies, there are very many adverse pregnancy issues, congenital problems of the heart and kidney, childhood cancer and even defects in the nervous system (Kouznetsova M, 2007)It is important to note that, with the high mortality rate and anomalies at birth may create a very good picture of black people health. From 2001 to 2014, the income inequity in life expectancy increased between the black and white. That has been increasing since 1980 and were connected with county level racial proportion.mortatilty rate due to health complications has always been noted to be 2 times that of the whites It tends to create a picture of what if whites lived in such places, would it create a difference more so to matters healthcare?.
Proposed and implemented disparity solutions
Reducing disparities needs proper leadership by the government. They are the ones who can easily implement policies and even easily engage different health stakeholders. Facilitating and coordination such agencies are very crucial. If they champion the cause, then implementation becomes easy and effective. The policy makers have tried and created a myriad of legislation aimed at eliminating the health inequities. They include the following; the praxis project – it is a national organization with a mission of buiding healthy communities by transforming the power structures and relationships that affect different lives.the organization duties include advocating for the equality, does community research and also ensure proper communication. There is also the Dismantling racism project that assist by addressing issues in any organizational environments that may directly or indirectly bring up the issue of racial health care disparities (Griffith , 2010). Lastly there is the Undoing Racism project. This project incorporates communities based research with the undoing process .it is built aroung the organization of the community (Yonas et al., 2006).
Importance of addressing health disparity from a sociological perspective
Sociologists have proved that established racial cataloging systems are arbitrary and evolved from systems of power and ideology (Frazier 1947). sociologists have dismissed the view that racial inequalities in health mainly reflected biological variances between racial groups Troy Duster explains that if any case the racial difference in health is brought about by inherent genetic differences, then social guidelines and structures that start and sustain the creation of disease are absolved from responsibility. Also, science is not value free and should therefore,not have preconceived ideas , opinions, political agendas and cultural norms. If such are used in a conscious or unconsciously then the results can easily can shape scientific research by influencing which questions are asked and which projects are sponsored (Duster 1984).
Socialogists emphasize that if inequality is not properly addressed , even the contribiution of genes by different races during major deadly diseases will be small. Therefore researhers should research on how biology combines with social exposures to affect the social distribution of disease (Reanne, 2008). Therefore the contribution of genes should be strictly based on genetic characteristic and not wholly focused on race or ethic.
Existing legislatives on the strategies to eliminate the disparity.
Some of the bills that have been introduced so as to address social determinant and eliminate these disparities include; in the state of Louisiana where on April 16, they adopted fest for life, that provides free cancer screening services as a minority awareness event. In Rhode Island, a resolution was passed on April 2016 to add a health disparity month in the state(chapter 2016 -178). Hawaii adopted a bill which urged the health department to endorse the screen campaign so as to screen adult Asian Americans who had a mass body index of 23 and had a high chance of contracting diabetes. The health department is also supposed to increase awareness of the diabetes disease among the Asian community in America so as to reduce and eliminate disparities. There is also the HHS Seasonal Influenza Task Force which has maximized efforts to enable vaccinations within racial and ethnic minority groups. This process Is done by the help of health Departments as well as private-public partnerships. The most known act is the Affordable Care Act initiated by former president Obama. The act wills insurance coverage to more than 30 million people. The Affordable Care Act also provides for provisions related to reduction of disparities, quality improvement. The Affordable Care Act will also reduce health disparities by investing in prevention and wellness, and giving individuals and families more control over their own care.
In conclusion
Compared to decades ago, there is much progress in the knowledge base in relation to health inequalities in developed countries. Such evidence should serve as a motivating factor for strong policy commitments to eradicate health inequalities in the United States. Also eliminating disparities should have a broader effort so as to fix the health sector in general.but to achieve the best health care system and stopping of disparities, the general public will need to work with the government and othe health stakeholders.
Achieving widely shared goals of improving health equity will require greater effort from public health policy makers, along with their partners in medicine and the sectors that contribute to the social determinants of health..
Bibliography
Cushing, L., R. Morello-Frosch, M. Wander, and M. Pastor. 2015. The haves, the have-nots, and the health of everyone: The relationship between social inequality and environmental quality. Annual Review of Public Health 36:193–209.
Duster Troy, Garrett Karen. Cultural Perspectives on Biological Knowledge. Ablex Publishing; Norwood, NJ: 1984. A Social Frame for Biological Knowledge. pp. 1–40
Frazier E. Franklin. Sociological theory and race relations. American Sociological Review. 1947;12:265–271
Kouznetsova M, H. X. (2007). Increased rate of hospitalization for diabetes and residential proximity of hazardous waste sites. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115(1):75–9.
Paradies Y, B. J. (n.d.). Racism as a determinant of health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2015.
Reanne, F. (2008). “Functional or futile?: the (in)utility of methodological critiques of genetic research on racial disparities in health. A commentary on Kaufman’s “Epidemiologic analysis of racial/ethnic disparities: some fundamental issues and a cautionary.
Taylor, D. E. 2014. Toxic communities: Environmental racism, industrial pollution, and residential mobility. New York: NYU Press