Health Disparities In Usa

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Mid-Atlantic Presentation: Health Disparities By Amanda Trejo, Nathalie Andrade, Sonia Portillo, & Vilma Diaz EDCP 418C Latino/a Leadership Spring 2009 Mid-Atlantic Presentation: Health Disparities: There is not a universal definition developed to define health disparities or health inequities. Some health policy institutions delineate disparities as differences in health processes or outcomes between population groups (Meyers). More specific definitions focus on differences where one ethnic group is worse off, or experiencing differences that are seen as unjust and unavoidable. It is important to keep in mind that some differences cannot be considered unjust due to physiological differences and therefore are not considered a disparity. Those differences which can include average life span and socioeconomic groups are related to social advantage and therefore portray health disparities or inequities (Meyers). Disparities are caused by many factors, including what we inherited at birth from our parents, and then those influences that shape our everyday lives. The most important factors being individual socioeconomic circumstances, physical and cultural community environment, personal management of health, and health care financing and delivery. Complex factors operating at the level of individuals play important roles in disparities in health and health care. However, something as simple as language has an enormous effect in health disparities and has led to catastrophes. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, some 49.6 million Americans (18.7 percent of U.S. residents) speak a language other than English at home; 22.3 million (8.4 percent) have limited English proficiency, speaking English less than "very well," according to self-ratings. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Americans who spoke a language other than English at home grew by

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