Week 5 Discussion 2nd RESPONSE-Community

PLEASE RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING POST OF A CLASSMATE IN 100 WORDS, Remember that your posts must be substantive and contribute to the dialogue that is taking place and Response posts must offer at least TWO new piece of information or insight.

Classmate Post:

Option 1:  Locate and read an article pertaining to Race/Ethnicity as a Determinant of Health. Post a link to the article and summarize the findings for your peers.

In article The State of Health Disparities in the United States, the author states that racial and ethnic disparities are perhaps the most serious manifestations of health inequalities over time, despite the many steps taken to improve health care in the United States. This is why race and ethnicity are extremely important factors when examining health care disparities. Therefore, decisions aimed at ensuring health equity must consider the social, political and historical context of race and ethnicity in our country. Among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, health disparities take many forms, including higher rates of chronic disease and premature mortality compared to rates among whites. As for other indicators, the differences have decreased not because of the improvement in the situation of minorities, but because of the deterioration in the health of the major groups of population. While significant progress has been made in reducing health disparities, the challenge of eliminating them completely remains to be addressed. Moreover, this narrowing of health gaps does not extend to many indicators. Rather, despite the overall improvement in health status over time, some differences in health status persist. This is true for many of the consequences associated with HIV. For example, over time, the disparity between African Americans and whites in the diagnosis of AIDS and mortality from it has increased significantly.  

References 

National Library of Medicine (n.d.). The State of Health Disparities in the United States.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425844/Links to an external site.