Addressing Health Disparities and Health Inequities

Written by Barbara T. Baylor, MPH, Minister for Health Care Justice,  Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ



“What happened so long ago that brings our health to this point?” “And what could have happened in a different way, in a different time that would have prevented our health from reaching such a crisis state?”  - Carol A. Brown, National President United Black Christians, United Church of Christ

The faith community has been integral to the success of social reform movements in the U. S. The church today still represents a natural point of reference for many communities. It is because of this that addressing health disparities as part of the health care justice discussion is crucial.

What Is Healthy People 2010?
Healthy People 2010 is our nation’s comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention agenda. It has two overarching goals:
1. Increase quality and years of healthy life
2. Eliminate Health Disparities

What are Health Disparities?
According to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, health disparities are the persistent gap between the health status of minorities and non-minorities. Despite continued advances in health care and technology, racial and ethnic groups continue to have more disease, disability and premature death than non-minorities. Health Disparities include differences that occur by gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation. In their report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, The Institute of Medicine cited that racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive lower quality health care than the majority population, even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable.

What are the causes of Health Disparities?
The causes of health disparities are complex. However, it is generally accepted that disparities can result from the following main areas:
1. Inadequate Access to Care – Barriers to care can result from economic, geographic, linguistic, cultural, and health care financing issues
2. Substandard Quality of Care – Lower quality care has many causes, including patient-provider miscommunication, provider discrimination, stereotyping, or prejudice. Quality of care is usually rated on four measures: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

Why is it important to address Health Disparities?
Demographic changes are anticipated over the next decade. These changes will magnify the importance of addressing disparities in health status. Groups currently experiencing poorer health status are expected to grow as a proportion of the total U. S. population; therefore, the future health of America as a whole will be influenced substantially by our success in improving the health of these groups. A national focus on disparities in health status is particularly important as major changes unfold in the way in which health care is delivered and financed.

Eliminating Health Disparities
Eliminating health disparities will require new knowledge about the determinants of disease, causes of health disparities, and effective interventions for prevention and treatment. Unnatural Causes … is inequality making us sick? is a dynamic resource for faith and community organizations that encourages us to seek solutions to these alarming health inequities by searching for the root causes of illness and disease. Searching for the root causes of illness and disease must include a frank discussion about the social determinants of health that impacts our health status. It must include discussion on the ways in which jobs, working conditions, education, housing, social inclusion, political power influence individual and community health. It’s not only the choices people make, but it’s also the choices people have.

Health disparities reflect the inequity and injustices that continue to permeate our society. In addition to educating and informing its members about health disparities from a holistic perspective, the faith community working in concert with local, state and national health care justice advocates can create dynamic partnerships for developing strategies and action plans to address these differences.

“The future health of the nation will be determined to a large extent by how effectively we work with communities to reduce and eliminate health disparities between non-minority and minority populations experiencing disproportionate burdens of disease, disability and premature death.” - Guiding Principle for Improving Minority Health

[1] Healthy  People 2010. http://www.health.gov/healthypeople

[2] National Partnership for Action, Office of Minority Health, DHHS. http://www.omhrc.gov/npa

[3] Unnatural Causes…is inequality making us sick?  http://www.unnaturalcauses.org