Health Care Disparities: Nurses Need to Care

1627 Words4 Pages

Health Care Disparities: Nurses Need to Care The United States government spent 2.3 billion dollars in 2010 on federally funded healthcare initiatives and programs according to a report from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (2008). Despite this astronomical amount of money, health care disparities continue to plague disadvantaged populations in the United States. A health care disparity is defined as differences in incidence, mortality, prevalence, disease burden, and adverse health conditions that occur in specific population groups in the United States (National Institutes of Health, 2010). These differences occur as a result of culture, race and geographical location as well as socioeconomic status (Andrews, & Boyle, 2008). Health disparities affect racial and ethnic minorities, low-income groups, women, children, older adults, residents of rural areas, and individuals with disabilities and special care needs (National Institutes of Health, 2010). Health disparities result in inadequate health care for affected populations with significant medical problems. Inadequate health care delivered in an untimely fashion ultimately requires more intervention to resolve worsening problems and also increases health care expenses for individuals, families, and communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). One way to decrease the prevalence of deteriorating health for any population is by using preventive care measures (Andrews, & Boyle, 2008). The use of preventive care allows significant problems to be identified early which enables the resolution of the problem when it is still a minor issue (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Often this strategy is more cost effective and require... ... middle of paper ... ...lth status and needs assessment of native americans in maine: final report Augusta, Maine: Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/phdata/Non%20DHP%20Pdf%20Doc/Health_Status_Needs_Assessment_Native_Americans_2000.pdf National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2010). Health disparities defined Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://crchd.cancer.gov/disparities/defined.html Providers Guide to Quality and Culture. (2005). Techniques for taking a history: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. http://erc.msh.org/aapi/tt4.html. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2008). National healthcare disparities report Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/nhdr08.pdf

Open Document