Can Racial Equity Exist in American Health Care?

Jessi Guo
HLTH 155
2020/12/4
Can Racial Equity Exist in American Health Care?
Introduction
Across the United States, race and racial equity have caused many disparities across many sectors. Poor health outcomes are prevalent among minority groups and usually occur across many dimensions such as ethnicity, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, location, and disability status. While all these aspects determine the health outcome, poor health outcomes are perceived to be significantly affected by racial equity. Healthcare disparities are important because they affected the marginalized groups as well as limit the gains in care quality, health promotion, and increases costs of healthcare. In this regard, racial equity is an important aspect that determines the level of healthcare outcomes within the United States. For many years, the lack of racial equity has caused numerous healthcare disparities that have resulted from a lack of racial equity. Because of the systematic inequalities imposed based on race, it has hard to attain racial equity in American Health Care.
Racism
The prevalence of racial disparities has affected people's access to healthcare equity. Because of racism, many people cannot access essential services within the school (National Academy of Sciences, 2017). There have been cases where people of certain races get poor standards of care within hospitals in the United States. This is caused by an inherently racist system that undermines the dignity of patients from certain racial groups. Racism and discrimination remain a major force impediment in the quest to achieve racial equity within the United States. Racism and discrimination "are deeply ingrained in the social, political, and economic structures of our society" (Tello, 2017). For the case of minority groups, their structure causes poor access to quality education, healthcare, nutrition, income, and housing. All these are factors that play an essential role in determining healthcare outcomes. Due to the prevalent systematic issues installed through racist and biased policies, achieving racial equality within the American healthcare system remains an uphill task. There are many gaps that must be filled in order to seal all healthcare disparities resulting in race-related factors (Tello, 2017).
Education
The level of education an individual also influences whether they will receive equitable health care. It directly influences how the level of care outcomes within a particular community. Therefore, unequal education opportunities are a contributor to healthcare inequities based on race. Numerous studies have established that Americans with high education live longer compared to those with a low level of schooling years. It has also been found that minority races have poor access to education opportunities, exacerbating the racial inequities in healthcare (National Academy of Sciences, 2017). Education is an important factor in healthcare. It is a major determinant of other factors that influences health outcomes. First, educated people can make better choices about their healthcare. Moreover, education is the basis for the creation of better healthcare opportunities. In contemporary society, people with better education will get well-paying jobs compared to those with poor education. Since it has been established that minority groups have poor access to education, it follows that their income levels will also be poor.
Employment, Wealth, and Income
With poor education opportunities comes at a lower level or lack of employment, income, and wealth within the minority communities. When there is no sufficient income for insurance, housing, nutrition, and other important factors, poor health outcomes arise. The social and economic status is a major force in determining health outcomes. The race factor remains a limiting factor in enhancing equality and ensuring that all people can access quality healthcare. When we consider the distribution of wealth, income, and employment, we can say that many disparities affect healthcare outcomes (National Academy of Sciences, 2017). There are many health problems that result from socioeconomic problems. These conditions include "low birth weight, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer" (Adler & Newman, 2002). Moreover, it has been noted that people with low-income levels have a high mortality rate upon admission to hospitals. This has been a trend observed among many minority races. Some of the major risks to poor health are associated wi...