Racial Disparities
Peer Edit Essay 1
ENGL 101-09
Talley
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health
Large disparities exist between minorities and the rest of Americans in major areas of health. Even though the overall health of the nation is improving, minorities suffer from certain diseases up to five times more than the rest of the nation. President Clinton has committed to a reform project to eliminate disparities in six areas of minority health by the Year 2010. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be jumping in on this huge battle. The six areas that will be focused on are: Infant Mortality, Cancer Screening and Management, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, HIV Infection and AIDS, and Child and Adult Immunizations.
Infant mortality is a worldwide indicator of a nation’s health status. Even though infant mortality has declined steadily over the past several decades, the United States ranks 24th in infant mortality, compared to other industrialized nations. Compared with the national average in 1996 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the largest disparity was among blacks with a death rate of 14.2 per 1,000 live births in 1996, which is almost 2½ times that of white infants (6 deaths per 1,000 in 1996). American Indians as a whole had an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1995, however some Indian communities have an infant mortality rate almost twice that of the national rate. The same applies to the Hispanic community (rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995) and the Puerto Rican community (rate was 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995).
These disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester (the most important trimester to receive care). That rate was up for the seventh consecutive year from 75.5% in 1989. Only 71% of black and Hispanic women received prenatal care,
ENGL 101-09
Talley
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health
Large disparities exist between minorities and the rest of Americans in major areas of health. Even though the overall health of the nation is improving, minorities suffer from certain diseases up to five times more than the rest of the nation. President Clinton has committed to a reform project to eliminate disparities in six areas of minority health by the Year 2010. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be jumping in on this huge battle. The six areas that will be focused on are: Infant Mortality, Cancer Screening and Management, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, HIV Infection and AIDS, and Child and Adult Immunizations.
Infant mortality is a worldwide indicator of a nation’s health status. Even though infant mortality has declined steadily over the past several decades, the United States ranks 24th in infant mortality, compared to other industrialized nations. Compared with the national average in 1996 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the largest disparity was among blacks with a death rate of 14.2 per 1,000 live births in 1996, which is almost 2½ times that of white infants (6 deaths per 1,000 in 1996). American Indians as a whole had an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1995, however some Indian communities have an infant mortality rate almost twice that of the national rate. The same applies to the Hispanic community (rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995) and the Puerto Rican community (rate was 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995).
These disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester (the most important trimester to receive care). That rate was up for the seventh consecutive year from 75.5% in 1989. Only 71% of black and Hispanic women received prenatal care,
Cited: US Department of Health and Human Services. The Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparitites in Health. 26 May 1998. Online. Internet. 21 February 1999. Available . "Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health." Public Health Reports. July/August 1998: 372 EBSCOhost. Available . (11 February 1999) "Health and Medicine." Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism. Volume 3. p 821