Health Discussion, Essay Example

The concept of healthcare disparity, much like that of a vulnerable population, is an ambiguous, although critically important term.  Perhaps the first question that should be answered is: what is a health disparity?  Usually health disparities refer to differences in health outcomes, often measured by race or sex; for example, Caucasians and African-Americans may have a different incidence (or risk) rate for colon cancer or Tuberculosis.  Healthcare disparities allow us to look at where health outcomes disparities exist and analyze why they might exist in the first place.

One of the main explanations for why health disparities exist is socio-economic status.   Epidemiological studies conducted in England in the 1970s (The Whitehead Studies) suggested that individuals of the same race who worked similar jobs but where of different social class faced profoundly different risks for such health conditions as heart disease.  The reason underpinning those disparities may arise from a number of factors related to socio-economic status including diet, job conditions, exercise, and how individuals of different income brackets ultimately deal with stress.   In the United States, access to health care is a more palpable concern underlying why health disparities may exist in certain communities.  Indeed, with only around 70% of the country having some type of health insurance, access to the medical system, particularly in the form of preventative care and expensive care for complex diseases, may play a key role in the quality of life and health outcomes experienced by certain people.  In additional to environmental factors, some posit disparities may also be a function of genetic characteristics including race, sex, nationality.  While these factors have not played such a key role in the debate, they are expected to do so as further discoveries from the human genome become known.