Essay on Determinants of Health Disparity in Global Public Health

This essay delves into the critical determinants of health disparity, examining how factors such as race, disability, and sexuality intersect to impact access to healthcare and overall well-being. It highlights the negative consequences of societal biases and prejudices, including poorer health outcomes, limited access to healthcare facilities, and unmet health needs. The essay discusses the role of implicit bias among healthcare providers and how it contributes to racial disparities in care. It also explores the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and those with minority sexual orientations, emphasizing the need for comprehensive educational approaches and professional training to address these disparities and ensure equitable healthcare access for all. The conclusion stresses the importance of prioritizing the elimination of health disparities and promoting awareness to facilitate open communication and access to health services regardless of societal norms.

Running head: DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH DISPARITY 1
Global public health
Institution
Student
Date

DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH DISPARITY 2
Determinants of health disparity
Introduction
Health is a crucial aspect in the general wellness of a person and greatly impacts on a
community’s productiveness. However, some disparities exist that hinder either access to the
health resources and facilities or the freedom to express freely one’s health issues due to
intersections of various social determinants of health, experiences and power structures. The
affected minorities often feel inferior and therefore rarely voice out their health concerns. These
disparities include but not limited to;
Race
The misconception that one race is inferior to another is a dangerous and pervasive creed that
impacts health negatively. The minority among the races often experience poorer quality health
care, reduced possibility of having a normal source of healthcare, more unmet health needs and
their health outcomes are poorer (National Center for Health Statistics (US), 2016). There are
also health disparities among the minority race in access and use of health care facilities.
Healthcare providers also play a role in racial health care disparities resulting from the insensible
beliefs through a mechanism referred to as implicit bias which can include emotional responses
like increase of amygdala activation when viewing the other race. Implicit bias is also associated
with disparities which are race based including emergency situations and communication while
administering health care. (Betancourt, Green, Carrillo, and Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, 2016)
Disability

DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH DISPARITY 3
The negative attitude and assumption about the people living with disabilities have adverse
health effects and the quality of healthcare accorded to them. Disability elicits emotions such as
pity and compassion and the desire to help them but it also elicits distinct negative reaction such
as anxiety, disgust and manifestation of attitudes and judgments. Healthcare provider may feel
frustrated or defeated when the health care they provide fail to prevent or heal a certain
disability.( Thornton et al, 2016) Legitimate health complaint from a person with a mental
disability may also be allocated diminutive trustworthiness as healthcare staff associate all
complaints of distress to the mental disorder. People without disability also tend to associate
people with disability with inabilities like lower levels of cognitive ability. (Adler et al, 2016)
Due to this inability, healthcare providers may deny a person with disability a chance to
contribute to their own healthcare, decisions and their healthcare plan Maitreyee (2014).
Sexuality
Even though sexual health is essential for the overall well-being and health, it is often
overlooked. Sexual orientation minorities’ disparities in sexual health exist with issues such as
dissatisfaction in one’s body image, pregnancy at teenage level, and sexually transmitted
infections like chlamydia being prevalent. (Adler et al, 2016) Moreover, it is evident that
minority sexual orientation experience higher behavioral risks, increased levels of health risk and
the rates of preventive healthcare are lower as compared to those of the heterosexual men and
women due to the oddity associated to their sexual orientation by the society. (Thornton et al,
2016) Healthcare providers fail to effectively address patients’ cultural and sexual identity
because they mostly underestimate the prevalence of sexual problems and the need for sexual
health care among the patients. Same sex relationship is shunned by some cultural groups and
this discrimination prevents them from being confident and open enough to discuss sexual

DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH DISPARITY 4
matters even with a health practitioner which further proves it hard for them to be offered any
type of sexual health help. (Adler et al, 2016)
Conclusion
Elimination of health disparities should always be a top priority, therefore, there is need for
comprehensive educational approaches focusing on those disparities in order to enhance the
awareness and give the affected minorities equal chances of accessing and seeking health
services while leaving no one behind. Some disparities are inevitable due to the complex
interactions among people but can be managed with increased awareness on the importance of
coming out for health care despite the common societal norms and beliefs. Health care providers
can also be professionally trained to help the minorities to come out and seek healthcare
whenever and wherever.

DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH DISPARITY 5
References
Adler, N.E., Cutler, D.M., Jonathan, J.E., Galea, S., Glymour, M., Koh, H.K. and Satcher, D.,
2016. Addressing social determinants of health and health disparities. Vital Directions for Health
and Health Care Initiative: National Academy of Medicine Perspectives.
Betancourt, J.R., Green, A.R., Carrillo, J.E. and Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, I.I., 2016. Defining
cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and
health care. Public health reports.
Maitreyee 2014. E-Bulletin of the Human Development & Capability Association Number 24,
July 2014 Group inequality and intersectionality.
National Center for Health Statistics (US), 2016. Health, United States, 2015: with special
feature on racial and ethnic health disparities.
Thornton, R.L., Glover, C.M., Cené, C.W., Glik, D.C., Henderson, J.A. and Williams, D.R.,
2016. Evaluating strategies for reducing health disparities by addressing the social determinants
of health. Health Affairs, 35(8), pp.1416-1423.