Health disparities
CDC report on health disparities and inequalities: http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/CHDIReport.html
The reports in this supplement document persistent disparities between some population groups in health outcomes, access to health care, adoption of health promoting behaviors, and exposure to health-promoting environments. Some improvements in overall rates and even reductions in some health disparities are noted; however, many gaps persist. These finding highlight the importance of monitoring health status, outcomes, behaviors, and exposures by population groups to assess trends and target interventions. In this report, disparities were found between race and ethnic groups across all of the health topics examined. Differences also were observed by other population characteristics. For example, persons with low socioeconomic status were more likely to be affected by diabetes, hypertension, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and were less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer and vaccinated against influenza.
Despite persistent racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic gaps in health care and health status, awareness of such disparities remains low among the general public (11). Much can be accomplished within the health and public health arena; however, the multiple and complex web of causes of health disparities can be fully addressed only with the involvement of many partners in fields that influence health such as housing, transportation, education and business. Identifying disparities and monitoring them over time is a necessary first step toward the development and evaluation of evidence-based interventions that can reduce disparities. CDC will continue to document health disparities and promote awareness of disparities as part of its contribution to the national goal to eliminate health disparities for vulnerable populations as defined by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geography, sex, age, disability status, sexual orientation, and primary language, and among other populations identified to be at-risk for health disparities.