Race and Access to Healthcare

Race and Access to Healthcare

Access to quality health care is a social talking point, and yet the real disparities that occur often have to do with race and other indicators of disenfranchisement. There are many discussions and debates regarding the reasons why there is a disparity in access to health care, yet there is very little research evidence to support circumstantial associations. For the most part the thesis of the sciences has been that racial disparities that occur in access to health care are often associated with conditions of other than minority racial status, but are intrinsically linked to race because those of racial minority backgrounds are more likely to live within the confines of these social stigmas, mainly poverty and poor living conditions. This information is backed up by a great deal of scientific research and conjecture. Stone and Dula stress this point in a review of new findings.

Authorities agree that people of color and in ethnic minorities have much worse health than whites. Killers such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancers take a far greater toll on minorities than on whites. These health disparities between whites and non-whites have multiple causes: poverty, inadequate education, inferior housing and living conditions, lack of health insurance, and both access to and quality of health care. (Stone & Dula, 2002, p.48)

This work will briefly discuss the issue specifically of access to healthcare as it pertains to racial minorities in the forms of a review of literature.

After examining numerous studies from the last ten years, the IOM concluded that "racial and ethnic minorities.., are less likely to receive even routine medical procedures [like coronary artery bypass surgery and kidney dialysis] than are white Americans." As the New York Times editorized on 22 March, racism may contribute to such disparities. (Stone & Dula, 2002, p. 48)

Access to health care is a marker among international organizations attempting to eliminate social disparity, and therefore it can be assumed to be a good indicator of racism in general, and it is clear that even in the richest country in the world the dominant race has superior opportunity and access to healthcare. (Stone & Dula, 2002, p.48) it must also be made clear that this is not only a global problem but it is clearly a U.S. problem.

Despite remarkable improvements in the overall health of our nation during the past two decades, compelling evidence suggests that our nation's racial and ethnic minority Americans suffer increasing disparities in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and adverse health outcomes compared with white Americans. Sources of these disparities are multivariate, complex, and rooted in an inequitable health care system. Contributing factors include lack of access to health care; barriers to care; increased risk of disability and disease resulting from occupational exposure; biological, socioeconomic, ethnic, and family factors; cultural values and education; social relationships between majority and minority population groups; autonomous institutions within ethnic minority group populations; and culturally insensitive health care systems (Geronimus, 2000; HHS, 2000; HHS, 2001b; Jackson et al., 2001; Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003). (Copeland, 2005, p. 265)