Ethnic Disparities In Health Care

Disparities in Health Care: Why Ethnic Minorities Struggle Compared to Caucasians

Cameron Schilling
2/30/13
BIO-365
Professor Ensworth

Healthcare is one of the most talked about topics in America. According to PBS, the healthcare industry accounts for eighteen percent of the nation’s gross domestic product(Kane, 2012). The cost of healthcare continues to rise and problems are brought to the surface each year. One growing problem is gap between ethnic minorities and the Caucasian population and the quality of healthcare received. Discrimination is a very large factor of there being a gap between the two groups and this study is important because practitioners need to recognize the problems that it creates. Ethnic minorities are
discriminated against for many reasons such as poor socioeconomics status, poor neighborhood environments, and just poor health choices. These can lead to practitioners’ discrimination of ethnic minorities. “Overall, racial/ethnic minorities receive poorer quality health care than do Whites in the United States”(Dovidio, Fiske, 2012). My hypothesis is that ethnic minorities are discriminated in a way that they receive worse healthcare than Caucasians. The design of this study is a sample design and not an experimental design because I pulled information that involved the entire United States. An experimental design is the design of any information gathering where variation is present. Variance is a measure of how far the set of numbers in a study is spread out. For this purpose, and the overall lower cost and efficiency, this study would overall incur a lower cost and data can be collected much faster than an experimental design. To prove that ethnic minorities are discriminated against more than Caucasians, I will pull much of my data from different studies that all come to the same conclusion. This study will include a large sample size, the United States, so there is a lot of equipment that needs to be provided for the research to be conducted. This is a sampling design study that will use a lot of different equipment. Equipment such as computers, iPads, calculators, notebooks, and software for computers are essential because they will aid the researchers immensely. If researchers are to stay in one place over a long period of time, storage may also be needed to store items in. Besides equipment, money will also be needed for the purpose of travel. Locations where researchers can gather will be needed, along with transportation needs. Transportation needs can include plane travel, vehicle rental, and reimbursement of gas. Living expenses such as food and hotel or motel would also be covered. Because this study looks at other resources of information to come to a final conclusion, medical examination of patients is not needed and therefore medical equipment is exempt. This study is considered a retrospective, or case controlled, study because it includes data that is collected from the past by going back in time.
This data is gathered through examination of records, interviews, and so on. A case controlled study is defined as a type of retrospective, epidemiological, clinical study design. It involves two or more different groups with different outcomes. These groups are observed in the medical field usually to determine the outcome of a specific condition or disease. The two groups that are being looked at in this study are Caucasians and ethnic minorities. There are many techniques and procedures that come into play for this study. I used the process of data mining. Data mining is the process of analyzing data from different perspectives and summarizing it into useful information. Data mining is the most useful technique in acquiring the data we need for this certain study and will overall increase the efficiency of gathering data. Pulling from credible sources in research papers and gathering from many different polls will overall be very helpful for the study.
Gathering The ethnic minority population is slowly gaining on the Caucasian population. These populations are more spread out in the United States. According to the 2011 U.S. Census, the ethnic populations are as such: Hispanics, 52 million; African Americans, 43.9 million; Asian Americans, 10 million; American Indians, 2.5 million. These numbers increase every year and the percent of Caucasians living in the United States starts to even out compared with minorities. In 2000, the white population made up approximately 70 percent of the total population(CDC, 2000), but now only make up 63.4 percent. The gap that divides the unique group of ethnic minorities and Caucasians has many factors There are many factors to consider when looking at the gap between Caucasian and minorities. There is a “disproportionate prevalence on less health lifestyles, low socioeconomic status, resource-poor neighborhood environments, and poorer access to care”(Shavers, et al., 2012) for ethnic minorities. These factors lead to far more cases of cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic diseases in general. Minorities are discriminated because of these factors and it can impact their healthcare. Racial discrimination is defined as discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race. Healthcare practitioners who discriminate create unneeded stress among patients and create unhealthy environments. This awful treatment of patients can spill into other aspects of the patient’s life, and can lead to more individuals smoking due to the psychological distress associated with such treatment(Purnell, et al., 2012). To put discrimination in perspective, nearly two-thirds of one study “perceived discrimination in their interactions with health care providers based on race…and 58.9% based on their socioeconomic status”(N.A., 2001). Minorities who are discriminated against may not obtain the proper healthcare that they deserve and according to Dovidio and Fiske, bias among healthcare providers exerts independent influence(2012). My hypothesis was that ethnic minorities are discriminated in a way that they receive worse healthcare than Caucasians. After pulling from many studies, the hypothesis seems to be validated, and that ethnic minorities are affected through discrimination in many different ways. Socioeconomic, health choices, and poor living conditions are only a few of the factors that make healthcare professionals discriminate against minorities. There is a certain design that was needed to guide me through this study. The design of this study is a sample design because I pulled information that involved the entire United States. This study would incur a lower cost and data can be collected much faster than an experimental design. Many different tools and equipment would be needed, such as computers, software, and iPads, to name a few. After concluding on the hypothesis, there needs to be a call for something to be done. With 52 million Hispanics, 44 million African Americans, 10 million Asian Americans, and 3 million American Indians, discrimination can lead to many problems. Stress occurs in many individuals as a result from healthcare professionals discriminating against their patients. This unneeded stress puts the body through more harm and can cause a patient to experience more problems. With healthcare being a hot topic for discussion in today’s society, it’s difficult to see the affects that discrimination has on the healthcare industry. In 2000, the white population made up 70 percent of the population, but now only makes up 63.4 percent. With the ethnic population rising, the Caucasian population could soon be outnumbered and if discrimination is to continue, the healthcare industry may be in need of drastic change.
References
Kane, Jason (2012). Health Costs: How the U.S. Compares With Other Countries. Retrieved February 25, 2013 from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/10/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries.html
Dovidio, John F., Fiske, Susan T.
(2012). Under the Radar: How Unexamined Biases in Decision-Making Processes in Clinical Interactions Can Contribute to Health Care Disparities. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 102, Issue 5.
CDC, (2000). White Populations. Retrieved February 26, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/populations/White.htm
Shavers, Vickie L., Fagan, Pebbles, Jones, Dionne, Klein, William M. P., Boyington, Josephine, Moten, Carmen, Rorie, Edward. (2012). The State of Research on Racial/Ethnic Discrimination in The Receipt of Health Care. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 201, Issue 5.
Purnell, Jason Q., Peppone, Luke J., Alcaraz, Kassandra, McQueen, Amy, Guido, Joseph J., Carroll, Jennifer K., Shacham, Enbal, Morrow, Gary R. (2012). Perceived discrimination, psychological distress, and current smoking status: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Reactions to Race Module, 2004–2008. American Journal of Public Heatlh, Vol 102(5), pp. 844-851.
N.A. (2001). Perceived race-based and socioeconomic status(SES)-based discrimination in interactions with health care providers. Ethnicity & Disease,
11(3):554-5.