Health Disparities and Public Policy

Extract

Health-related disparities are significant differences in the incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and burden of disease among specific population groups. Medical research has demonstrated glaring disparities for a wide range of health problems and among different groups. It is important that we improve our understanding of what causes health disparities and work to address them. In doing so there is a tendency to discuss health disparities solely in terms of differences among racial and ethnic groups; however it is a myth that only these groups experience disparities. Unfortunately, health disparities occur in all segments of society.

Medical research working to achieve the goal of alleviating health disparities in the United States is a goal with broad support that adopts the well-established perspective that various forms of discrimination and poverty are the major contributors to unequal health status. One idea that has been put forth is that genetic research plays a significant role in alleviating this national problem, which may overstate the importance of genetics in explaining health disparities. Over reliance on genetics as a factor in explaining health disparities may lead us to miss the factors that we can control, thus reinforcing stereotyping which contributes to disparities in the first place.

Access to care is a primary reason for disparities. For example, disparities due to limited access to coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery are well documented. Evidence shows that even when patients do receive CABG surgery, the poor, people living in rural areas, and racial minorities are more likely to…