Racial, Ethnic, and Sociodemographic Disparities
Michael E. Schatman in Ethical Issues in Chronic Pain Management, 2016
An operational definition of a disparity refers to “differences in the disease burden, illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one population group in relation to another or clinical decisions or outcomes associated with disadvantage for one group as compared to another” (36,37). The disparities literature primarily focuses on Black Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in comparison to Caucasians. However, significant disparities in health and those, which are based upon socioeconomic status and geographic location, are well described. Nonetheless, mortality rates are significantly higher for minority persons at all ages as well as for economically disadvantaged people (38–40). There is also evidence for racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality associated with cardiac disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses as well as in the medical care received for these conditions, thereby presenting significant ethical concerns (16,41,42).
Local groups in shaping the advocacy of population health
Ben Y.F. Fong, Martin C.S. Wong in The Routledge Handbook of Public Health and the Community, 2021
An increasing number of international organisations, including WHO, and countries have recognised the importance of reducing health inequalities to improve health outcomes. They are putting efforts in narrowing the social and health disparity. For example, the WHO Regional Office for the Americas has been promoting health equity in the region (Marmot, 2011). Local groups should carry out a sustainable health educational programme by collaborating with different stakeholders like the government, schools and community to enhance health literacy, especially within the low socioeconomic groups. This is an effective way to strengthen self-empowerment in self-care and the management of complex medical decisions (Gwynn et al., 2016; Kjærgård et al., 2014).
Urban distress and the mental health of men
David Conrad, Alan White, Alastair Campbell, Louis Appleby in Promoting Men’s Mental Health, 2018
A number of studies document racial and ethnic groups’ subjection to excess mortality and morbidity (e.g. Gold et al. 2006; Tuan et al. 2007), although the complex interplay of associated risk factors can often make causality and clear correlation difficult to establish (Smaje 1995). Examining data from 12 countries with various growth rates, national income and population, researchers found economic disparity correlated with race and ethnicity throughout (Darity and Nembhard 2000). Because of the enduring significance of race and ethnicity in countries such as the US, having lower-class status and being of colour are often closely linked and it is difficult to separate the two issues. The findings of a study published in 2008, for example, indicate that young black men living in England and Wales are at higher risk of suicide than their white counterparts (Bhui and McKenzie 2008). It is also well established that poverty rates among black people in the UK exceed those of the other ethnic groups in the study.
Does location matter? Geographic variations in healthcare resource use for atopic dermatitis in the United States
Published in Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2021
Kevin K. Wu, Khoa B. Nguyen, Jeena K. Sandhu, April W. Armstrong
When examining differences in healthcare, it is important to first note the distinction between ‘differences’ and ‘disparities.’ A healthcare disparity is defined as ‘difference in treatment or access not justified by differences in health status or preferences of the groups’ (19). Therefore, not all differences in healthcare are considered disparities. For example, patients with Fitzpatrick skin type one are more likely to get skin cancers when compared with those with Fitzpatrick skin type six. This is because lighter skinned individuals have inherently lower levels of melanin in their skin, leaving them more vulnerable to the sun’s ultraviolet rays (20). Although this difference does exist, it would not be considered a disparity. With AD, we would not expect large differences in healthcare resource use between geographic regions due to inherent differences in health status or preferences of the groups. Regardless of patient location, AD patients generally share the same goal: to be clear of their disease. Therefore, differences in healthcare resource use among AD patients living in different regions are considered disparities.
Education Mediates Racial Disparities in Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults With Schizophrenia
Published in Clinical Gerontologist, 2023
Sarah Dobbins, Erin Hubbard, Heather Leutwyler
The term racial disparity, a common term in research literature, refers to unjust and unfair differences in health across racial groups. VanderWeele and Robinson provide an important discussion of racial inequities in health outcomes in their 2014 paper on the interpretation of race in regression analyses (VanderWeele & Robinson, 2014). They note that we cannot randomize race nor manipulate the exposure of race; therefore we cannot examine the “effect of race” on outcomes in the traditional sense. VanderWeele and Robinson propose that the notion of an “effect of race” in research study design may better correspond to the joint effects of specific components that travel through pathways other than skin pigment or genetics. These pathways include, but are not limited to, family socioeconomic status at the time of conception or birth, neighborhood characteristics, educational opportunities, discrimination, or incarceration. Following this approach, we appropriately used the theoretical framework of structural violence to develop our research questions. Structural violence theory posits that the social arrangements that cause disease and ill-health in populations are embedded in the political and economic organization of our social world (Farmer, 2004; Stonington et al., 2018). Using this theory to frame the current study, we conceptualize the underlying drivers of cognitive aging racial disparities among PLWSz as socially patterned manifestations of inequities in sociopolitical structures throughout history.
Establishment and validation of haematological reference intervals for newborns aged 5 to 28 days in Nanjing, China
Published in Hematology, 2023
Chen-Li Li, Cheng Tan, Ling Gao, Yong Chang, Wei-Min Fan
Several studies have been conducted in China to determine the paediatric RIs of CBC parameters. To date, children in the neonatal period have not been studied [13, 34, 35] because the number of neonates (up to 28 days of age) is small and sample collection is challenging; hence, there are no established RIs of CBCs that are typical of newborns. In the current research, we constructed haematologic RIs for neonates aged 5–28 days in Nanjing, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind in China. Our results of the 95% RI values of RBC (3.38–5.39), Hct (35.2–61.2), MCH (30.9–36.3), MCHC (310–341) and MCV (94.5–112.2) were similar to those published in Ethiopia (3.69–5.47), (39.4–58.1), (30.5–38.02), (31.7–40.0) and (91.6–113.2); and Iran (3.61–5.29), (39.6–56.9), (31.7–40.0). Our study's lower limit of the WBC (7.17) value was comparable to those reported in studies published in Ethiopia (7.64) and Iraq (7.64). Conversely, the WBC's upper-limit RI (15.69) was lower than that reported in Ethiopia (22.16) but greater than that recorded in Iraq (12.92) [36, 37]. This might be related to the different specimen types, which, in our investigation were all capillary blood, while umbilical cord blood was used in the other studies. Geographical location and race may also play a role in the disparity.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Eye
- Stereopsis
- Visual Cortex
- Parallax
- Pupillary Distance
- Visual Angle
- Cardinal Point
- Neuron
- Receptive Field
- Stimulus