Healthcare Disparities The author of this report has been asked to select and describe a certain healthcare population that resides within the United States. The author will speak to the support systems that may or may not exist for that population and how any lack thereof could lead to healthcare disparities and negative outcomes for that group. However, the author of this report will first generally explain how social support can contribute to positive healthcare outcomes in a population and how social exclusion of any sort could lead to the opposite. While people of most religions and racial/ethnic groups in the United States have good and strong support systems that assist in the improvement and upholding of good healthcare outcomes, there are some populations that are under-served and some specific racial/ethnic groups that have the proverbial deck stacked against them.

Summary

Generally speaking, groups that have broad social presence and support will fare better from a healthcare standpoint than those groups that do not. For example, Christians in generally will tend to fare better than religious groups that are in the minority like Buddhists, atheists and so forth because there are far more medical organizations, charities and community groups that are Christian-oriented or -- operated. There are also non-religious groups that will nonetheless acclimate and cater to those with a religious preference and...

Similarly, white people with European backgrounds/ancestry are by far the dominant race/ethnic group in the United States. As such, places that are ran and staffed by people of that ilk will be much more common than those of minority races or cultures like Hispanic, Black or so forth. Because of the common presence of these dominant cultures, peoples in those groups (racial or religious) will find much more ease in finding healthcare professionals and locations than people that are of a racial/ethnic minority, that speak a different language or that are of a different religion (Deeling, 1996).
One might think that healthcare disparities would be limited to those with language or religious issues but class and socioeconomic status would certainly be a factor as well. For example, someone that has less disposable income (if they have an income at all) will be less likely to seek healthcare (especially elective/preventative healthcare) if they have very little funds for everyday expenses like food and shelter, let alone healthcare. This is not to say that healthcare is not important because it most certainly is. However, many people eschew needed or recommended healthcare due to lack of insurance and/or money. This happenstance is much more likely to happen with minorities such as Hispanics and Blacks because they are much more likely…