Disparities in Healthcare for Minorities

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By KerShanda Crawford Disparities in Healthcare for Minorities It’s amazing how one live in the land of the free: freedom of speech, freedom to exercise one’s rights, free from discrimination, etc. However, people are not really free. If too much is spoken, one may be penalized. Standing up for one’s beliefs may lead to an arrest or an assault. What about discrimination? That is a very loaded question. Discrimination is all around, within everyday life. Majority of the time discrimination is hidden so well, that it’s not directly recognizable. It’s on the job, in the education system, in the political realm, and within the healthcare system. Healthcare. Who would have guessed discrimination would exist within healthcare? As odd as it may seem, there is discrimination within the healthcare system vastly among the minority communities. Discrimination within the healthcare system towards minorities has been notable for quite some time. In 2000, President Clinton signed a bill into law which helps to track the health issues and access problems by minorities (Modern Healthcare 4). Multiple studies have been conducted over several years in such a wide range of areas to streamline the disparities within the doctor’s offices, hospitals, or any other contact with medical personnel. These areas include: “…the delivery of health care services, the prevention of disease, the promotion of positive health behavior, appropriate approaches for reducing the barriers to accessing preventive health services (including specific disease related screening programs), and the best methods for providing state-of-the-art treatment to underserved populations” (Mason 1). As stated in a Health Services Research editorial, A key component common to each of these efforts seeks to target reducing disparities and promoting equity in health care, with a central focus on the systematic

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