Policy Measure
The policymakers have increased their attention on the removal of racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare. However, no consensus seems to have been received in this direction. On the initiative of the US Congress, a National Healthcare Disparities Report has been prepared. This report has identified four policy measures for addressing racial and ethnic healthcare disparities including the healthcare disparities among women. One of the policy measures is to increase the knowledge base on causes and interventions to reduce disparities among others. In this area, considerable efforts are being taken to impart training to healthcare providers to cater to the requirements of women belonging to different races and with different ethnicity. This training covers the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services. The policy also covers the use of electronic medical records to reduce medical errors. It also improves coordination of the provision of healthcare and enhances the use of financial incentives for promoting high-quality health care to reduce the racial and ethnic healthcare disparities. The policy also aims to address the issues of socioeconomic status and education, which have a large influence on the healthcare status of ethnic women (KaiserFamilyFoundation, 2008).
Even though there is substantial evidence of racial and ethnic health care disparities, there are not many instances of developing interventions for eliminating these disparities. One of the areas in which there is a glaring healthcare disparity is ‘mammography’. Ethnicity has been considered a significant factor in the prevalence of breast cancer among black women. Even though the number of black women having breast cancer is less, the mortality rate among black women because of this disease is found to be very high and disproportionate (Grana, 1998).
Application of the Policy Measure
The policy measure of the increasing knowledge base is applied to increase the knowledge of the black women to go in for periodic mammography for the early detection of breast cancer. There are two important issues associated with mammography. First, mammography is related to the stage in diagnosis. Secondly, factors that affect mammography use are not properly understood but such factors are influenced by socio-demographic and cultural factors. Therefore, the policy measure should attempt to educate black women to understand the use of screening mammography, especially in older women. Since many barriers impede the use of screening of mammography and many other preventive healthcare initiatives, it becomes imperative that the policy undertakes to educate black women and make them understand mammography and breast cancer outcomes (Grana, 1998).
Prospects of the Success of the Policy Measure
I have my own reservations about the success of this policy measure in increasing the knowledge base of ethnic women. This is because of certain barriers, which prevent the possibility of an open discussion with ethnic women. For instance, lack of education, language barrier, and cultural background are the main hurdles in getting the necessity for preventive healthcare and in making them discuss their health problems openly with the physician or the social worker who is made responsible to educate them in this respect. “Increasing the knowledge base will require investing in routinely collecting and analyzing data on health care use across racial/ethnic groups” (KaiserFamilyFoundation, 2008). In fact, this could be one of the major issues in pursuing the policy of improving the knowledge base of women. Data collected from national surveys, health insurers, and different healthcare organizations are important to understand the problems and healthcare issues of women and the impact of interventions on such problems. One of the problems connected with the data collection is the insufficient sample sizes in publicly available data sources. Unless there is a clear understanding of the issues that need to be handled, it may not be possible to implement the policy of improving the knowledge base.
References
- Grana, G. (1998). Ethnic Differences in Mammography Use among Older Women: Overcoming the Barriers. Annals of Internal Medicine , 128 (9), 773-775.
- KaiserFamilyFoundation. (2008). Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options?