Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Healthcare
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Culture refers to the norms, beliefs, and values that a particular community associate themselves with. Today, culture has become an essential determinant in the healthcare system. Within the healthcare organizations are culturally diverse professionals. Also, the different professions within the medical field tend to have different cultural standards. Currently, the rate at which Americas ethnic composition is growing is enough to warrant the adjustment of operations in various public and private service centers. One of the fields that is most affected by the drastic change in racial composition within the country is healthcare. For healthcare providers, the current population composition poses a great threat to the provision of quality healthcare to American citizens because the medical profession is also facing diversity issues in its workforce. This paper seeks to explore the racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare.
The Health Professionals for Diversity is an institution that aims at promoting diversity in health professions. This institution seeks to improve the healthcare system nationwide by building a workforce that is drawn from the segments of Americas diverse society (Dreachslin, Gilbert, Malone 2012, p. 3). Healthcare disparities are characterized by racial and minority populations. Due to the different ethnic origins of these populations, the persons tend to suffer unnecessarily from treatable diseases. Empirical research shows that there are significant differences in quality of healthcare provided among racial and minority groups in the United States. In turn, this leads to differences in the health status of these populations. For example, a study found that the average waiting time for an African American patient who is scheduled for a kidney transplant is twice as long as that of a white patient.
Such inequality in healthcare provision results in adverse health outcomes among specific ethnic and minority groups (Saha, Beach & Cooper, 2008, p. 1278). For example, the likelihood of Hispanic youth dying from diabetes is more than that of whites. Nonetheless, even when the government encourages citizens to control for health-related risks using insurance, some ethnic groups still end up receiving low-quality healthcare. Diversity and disparity in healthcare poses both an ethical and a moral dilemma for society today. The challenge tends to hinder the improvement of the countrys healthcare system. For example, when disparities result in incorrect diagnoses or poor management of critically ill patients, the healthcare system experiences high costs, which could have been avoided.Current forecasts predict that within the next thirty-five years, ethnic minority groups will account for approximately one-half of the entire population. According to these forecasts, the groups with the largest population growth will most likely receive low-quality healthcare. Despite this continued increase in the number of ethnic minority groups, the countrys health care workforce does not reflect the extensive diversity (Dreachslin, Gilbert, Malone 2012, p. 4). If such trends continue, ethnic minorities are more likely to be underrepresented in the workforce than they are today. Hence, adjusting enrollment, recruitment, and healthcare management operations within the health sector such that diverse healthcare workers are employed should serve to address the increasing ethnic healthcare disparities. The new operations should be focused on creating and maintain a culturally diverse health system.
Several articles and journal publications have emphasized the essence of an ethnically diverse workforce. For example, a report by the Sullivan Commission shows that black patients are more likely to receive healthcare from black health professionals. Similar studies show that health practitioners who are already underrepresented treat minority groups who are less educated and with lower incomes. Hence, workforce diversity has been greatly associated with greater satisfaction and improved healthcare communication between the patient and the provider. Furthermore, specialists such as James OBarr and William Alvardo-Little who are featured in the video (Bridging Gaps: The Vital Role of Cultural Competence in Healthcare) find that lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce fosters cultural and lingual barriers. This, in turn, creates clinical uncertainty in the relationship shared by the patient and the health provider. In the video, the health specialists being interviewed mention that there are significant benefits of diversity in the workforce. However, this workforce diversity fails to reflect the highly diverse American population.
Indications of future diversity even at the doctoral level are far from encouraging. This failure in future expectations poses a great threat to the leadership structure of the healthcare system given that the highest ranking health professionals occupy the respective leadership positions. According to OBarr, leadership and healthcare management form a major theme that encourages cultural diversity in health institutions. Unfortunately, the number of graduating doctors shows a lack of underrepresented ethnic minorities in the various leadership positions. However, if the healthcare authorities in the country are intent on correcting this problem, they should focus on strengthening the numbers of qualified but underrepresented minorities (Dreachslin, Gilbert, Malone 2012, p. 6).
Future projections showing the trend in the provision of healthcare to underrepresented minorities are also worrying. Research has shown that underserved populations are more likely to serve in areas of need. For example, a survey by the America Dental Education Association shows that dentist professionals from underrepresented minority groups are likely to continue as primary care providers in underrepresented population groups unless the relevant authorities intervene. Through their survey, the ADEA showed that African Americans were more likely to accept patients from underrepresented groups. Fortunately, if steps are taken to increase workforce diversity and awareness of healthcare disparity issues, the existing under representations should be less glaring. Also, if efforts are taken to counter the current resistance to service, patients will become more willing to identify competency in healthcare providers.
To eradicate the prevalent problem of ethnic disparities in healthcare, relevant authorities must make diversity within the health care system a priority (Kirmayer, 2012, p. 149). This can be done by developing a culture of change whose sole objective is to implement diversity initiatives. This change shall require the necessary support from leaders and managers within health care institutions. Hence, leaders should make a formal declaration of their institutions willingness to eliminate health care disparities and promote diversity. In the video, Alvardo says that this declaration can be made through a mission statement that clearly defines the institutions commitments and goals towards the provision of culturally competent healthcare (Kirmayer, 2012, p. 150). By making such a statement, the institution lays down the responsibilities and values it needs to succeed.
Academic institutions also need to join in the effort to foster diversity within the healthcare system. First, school administrators can begin by recruiting additional underrepresented professionals. Nonetheless, an ample solution cannot be attained without the commitment and active participation of all health professionals and other stakeholders. Leaders in healthcare learning institutions are an innate base for such efforts. They have an obligation to select the right candidates, teach, and train them to meet professional requirements (Bauer, 2014, p. 12). This academic recruitment procedure will not only serve to support underrepresented minority groups but to achieve a system open to diversity. Apart from the fact, that many professionals from underrepresented minority groups are likely to embrace care for underserved individuals, diversifying student bodies in learning institutions will benefit the students education and the health of their future patients.
The above initiatives should work to increase the number of healthcare students from underrepresented minority groups. However, studies have shown that many such students do not perform as well as the non-underrepresented students. Hence, steps must be taken by academic leaders to ensure the enrollment of qualified students in schools and healthcare centers. These quantitative measures have been countered by suggestions of a review of each applicants qualitative aspects to ascertain their skills. The quantitative approach provides useful but imprecise information about a students eventual performance. However, a qualitative approach would provide an assessment of individual aspects such as leadership potential, multilingualism, and life experience (Bauer, 2014, p. 14). The qualitative approach has been greatly acclaimed because an applicants previous experience within a multicultural environment would be quite beneficial.
The road ahead is quite tough for all healthcare providers. Providing for the enrollment and recruitment of multicultural health practitioners is not the only way to create and retain diversity in the healthcare system. Underrepresented faculty members in various health centers should aid the process by taking up leadership positions to oversee the successful implementation of the initiatives. Also, increasing workforce diversity requires external changes as much as it does internal changes. This could be done by opening forums for collaboration between healthcare institutions and stakeholders within the community. This way, health institutions can engage surrounding communities with information regarding cultural competency initiatives. In turn, community-based stakeholders can aid health institutions in meeting their diversity initiatives by helping with the implementation of the initiatives and training health professionals in cultural competency.
References
Bauer, G. R. (2014). Incorporating intersectionality theory into population health research methodology: Challenges and the potential to advance health equity. Social Science & Medicine, 110, 10-17.
Dreachslin, J. L., Gilbert, M. J., & Malone, B. (2012). Diversity and Cultural Competence in Health Care: a systems approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Kirmayer, L. J. (2012). Rethinking cultural competence.
Saha, S., Beach, M. C., & Cooper, L. A. (2008). Patient centeredness, cultural competence and healthcare quality. Journal of the National Medical Association, 100(11), 1275-1285.
The vital role of cultural competence in healthcare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QasVBqY4uB0.
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