Care Disparities

Racial health disparities in premature death pervasive in all US states

April 18, 2024 - Even in the best-performing states, racial health disparities have left their mark, with new reporting from the Commonwealth Fund showing serious differences in life expectancy and preventable deaths between races/ethnicities. Overall, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people in the United States are more likely to die from...

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Chronic care access limits diagnosis & quality for women

by Sara Heath

It could take more than a year longer for women to get a diagnosis for a chronic disease than it could for their male counterparts, with new survey data showing stark disparities in how women rate...

Health equity investment slated to continue into 2024

by Sara Heath

Health equity efforts will almost certainly maintain their pace over the next year, as healthcare leaders assert that equitable care and closing of heath disparities is a social, ethical, and political...

A Third of Americans Say Racism Is a Major Problem in Healthcare

by Sara Heath

Although nearly a third of the American public thinks racism in medicine is a major problem, that proportion is actually much lower than the public perception of other sectors, potentially signaling a...

Racially Diverse ZIP Codes See Disparities in MAT Access

by Sara Heath

ZIP codes with more racial and ethnic diversity have markedly fewer buprenorphine prescribers and far lower rates of dispensed buprenorphine prescriptions, according to researchers from the University...

Flagging Disparities Helps Locate Best Places for Cancer Screening Sites

by Sara Heath

A new study from ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute provides a roadmap for states to identify where they can put more breast cancer screening sites, a move...

Healthcare Affordability Woes Affect High- and Low-Income Patients Alike

by Sara Heath

It’s long been understood that healthcare in the United States is unaffordable for the nation’s poorest patients, but a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund shows that healthcare...

Racial Health Disparities in Low-Value Care Call Attention to Bias

by Sara Heath

A new study from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is calling into question the individual and structural forces...

Over Half of Health Experts Lack Confidence in Health Equity Work

by Sara Heath

It could be almost a decade before the United States medical industry sees any significant improvement in health equity, according to survey data from the Rise to Health Coalition, with many industry...

Pediatric Sepsis Mortality Risk Marred by Racial Health Disparities

by Sara Heath

Pediatric patients who are Black are far more likely to die from sepsis than their White counterparts, even within a single hospital, a new analysis presented at the 2023 American Academy of Pediatrics...

A Third of Folks with Disabilities Face Healthcare Discrimination

by Sara Heath

Four in 10 people with disabilities report unfair treatment in healthcare settings, the workplace, and in accessing public benefits, according to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute data...

Health Equity Accreditation Aims to Provide Actionable Roadmap

by Sara Heath

A new health equity accreditation from URAC is set to help healthcare organizations assess and guide their efforts to address health disparities, the accreditation body said in a recent press...

NIH Designates People with Disabilities as Facing Health Disparities

by Sara Heath

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will now consider people with disabilities as a population with health disparities, which, among other things, with let the agency start conducting more research...

EDs Use Restraints on Black Patients More than White, But Data Is Scant

by Sara Heath

There’s a gulf in how often emergency departments use restraints on Black patients compared to everybody else, an issue that’s alarming considering the physical and psychological harm such...

Latinas See Disparities in Breast Cancer Screening, Age of Diagnosis

by Sara Heath

Hispanic or Latina women get diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age than their counterparts of other races, but that’s not because of more habitual breast cancer screening access. In...

National Academies Call for Federal Body on Health Equity

by Sara Heath

The federal government needs a new body that can improve racial, ethnic, and tribal health equity, according to a new report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The...

SNAP Benefits Miss Mark in 78% of US Counties, Fueling Food Insecurity

by Sarai Rodriguez

Amid soaring food prices in 2022, SNAP benefits fall short of covering moderately priced meals in 78 percent of United States counties, a new Urban Institute survey revealed. SNAP, the US's...

Racial Discrimination Shows to Affect Childhood Obesity Rates

by Sara Heath

Is racial discrimination contributing to the childhood obesity crisis? It could be, according to a group of researchers from the New York University School of Global Health. Kids who experienced more...

Maternal Mortality Doubles in One Decade, Driven by Racial Disparities

by Sara Heath

The maternal mortality rate in the US more than doubled between 1999 and 2019, from a total of 505 maternal deaths to 1,210, according to a new JAMA study. But unsurprisingly, that increase affected...

SNAP May Attenuate Racial Disparities in Food Insecurity, SDOH

by Sara Heath

Getting eligible families enrolled in food assistance programs like SNAP could be key to closing the racial disparities in food insecurity, according to a new study out in JAMA Network Open. According...