An Insight into Health Disparities

Running head: AN INSIGHT INTO HEALTH DISPARITIES 1
An Insight into Health Disparities
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AN INSIGHT INTO HEALTH DISPARITIES 2
An Insight into Health Disparities
Today, there is every reason to be thankful enough for the diverse and multicultural
world we live in. With the world being diverse and endowed with multiculturism, one may fail to
realize that a myriad of health-related issues exists. Some of the health-related issues that come
up as results of multiculturalism include but not limited to access to healthcare, health disparities,
and equitable and quality care. Additionally, no health insurance package and language barrier
are some of the factors that deny persons from minority groupings from gaining access to sound
health care and related services.
One of the key factors that denies a person access to sound healthcare is the built
environment where that particular individual dwells in. The said built environment is made up of
settings that were created, designed, and maintained by human activities (Gavin, Seeholzer,
Leon, Chappelle, & Sehgal, 2015). In that case, it is fair to say that the environment where one
dwells is a determinant of the kind of toxins a person gets exposed to. Furthermore, it also
determines access to resources such as food, schools, healthcare, and parks just to mention a few.
Yet, where one dwells is likely to indicate an individual’s socioeconomic status, health
disparities, and predicted life expectancy.
Factors of Diversity
Ideally, race and ethnicity are often associated with social related advantages. Racial
abuse directed towards groups that can be classified as socially marginalized results to the pack
being at a social disadvantage which results in disparities in healthcare provision (Steinberg,
Skae, & Sampson, 2018). Additionally, factors of ethnicity and race are often tied to other
aspects of social disadvantage such as segregation, poverty, poor education, unemployment,

AN INSIGHT INTO HEALTH DISPARITIES 3
limited language proficiency, and low health literacy. These aforementioned sets of factors put
the society at a disadvantage leading to a mix up between safety healthcare and quality health
results.
Essentially, also comes to play as far as disparities in healthcare come to play. Culture is
likely to determine choices that individuals can make when it comes to healthcare, that is to say,
the perceptions about illnesses and other conditions may not be perceived the same between
cultures (Cunningham et al., 2017). For instance, an American may opt for dialysis for kidney-
related health conditions whereas, on the basis of tradition, an Asian may forfeit treatment
altogether since dialysis is not an option. In that light, culture plays a part in healthcare provision
leading to health disparities.
Non-success of Health Care Systems
Some cases of health care disparities may be as results of health care systems failing to
meet the needs of patients especially those at a social disadvantage. In line with health care
systems, health disparities occur at interrelated levels such as policies, care processes and
teamwork, clinician behaviors, and team ventures (Khullar & Chokshi, 2018). Conversely, a
disparity free health care points out to healthcare being responsive to needs such as culture and
patient preferences among others. Equitable healthcare is a foundation for sound patient-centered
care.
Setting and Socioeconomic Status
In the light of health disparities, fingers are often pointed to socioeconomic status. It is
known to put the society at a disadvantage of access to health care, low-quality care (may result
from being uninsured), and inability to afford health care costs not just in the United States but