Introduction
Paul, Jane & Elizabeth (2011) described the race as a social categorization based on phenotype and a social factor that is capable of influencing health and utilization of healthcare. Ethnicity is a result of several facets of difference which are of political and social significance in the world, these facets include nationality, culture, race, and religion (Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003). Ethnicity and social class statuses are known to be common in many societies of the world today. Brown (2009) discovered in his research that connections exist between class and ethnicity in contemporary societies. Ethnicities that are considered as part of the low or high class differ in various parts of the world. Groupings such as race are known to influence class positions.
Race, Social Class and its Impact on Health
Health disparities go along to be a major challenge facing the healthcare system all over the world. These disparities result from a set of factors including race and social class. Evidence that several health disparities are ascribable to differences in the level of healthcare services rendered to people of different social classes and races has continued to emerge (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1997).
Ethnic and cultural disparities are a characteristic that poses a great influence on health. Paul et al. (2011) asserted that discrimination of race and social class has been revealed to have significant consequences on health policies. Social class is linked with health as pointed out by Herrnstein & Murray (1994); they asserted that people of high social class have better access to health when compared to people of lower social class.
Mitigating health disparity
The need to mitigate health disparity cannot be overstated. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (1997) identified the need to address all forms of health disparity. Public Health practitioners have the moral and professional obligation to address ethnic and racial differences in healthcare. Public health practitioners can achieve this by:
- Raising awareness on health disparity among healthcare providers, legislators, the general public, and health-system executives as identifying the existence of health disparity is important in mitigating it (Saha, Komaromy, & Koepsell, 1999).
- Providing a more widely varied healthcare environment and workforce.
- Promoting efficient communication among healthcare providers and patients.
- Encouraging the consistent utility of multi-disciplinary groups and guidelines that are based on evidence for patient care.
- Gathering and reporting information about healthcare access, use, and results by ethnic and racial minorities, and evaluating progress toward mitigating healthcare disparities.
- Exploring, recognizing, and disseminating appropriate practices for rendering culturally competent health care and checking health disparities.
Importance of addressing race, ethnicity, and culture when developing programs for the prevention of disease
Addressing race, ethnicity, and culture is crucial when developing programs for the prevention of diseases. It is important as programs for the prevention of disease such as health programs can reach both low and high-class individuals, different races, and cultures (Newacheck, Jameson, & Halfon, 2004). It is also important as it provides a diverse environment and workforce for the successful prevention of diseases. In addition, addressing these disparities will result in quality healthcare delivery for minorities and meet the health needs of everybody including racial and ethnic minorities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is required that healthcare providers understand the influence of race, ethnicity, and culture on health with the increasing number of minorities in countries today. However, more information needs to be researched about the relationship of this varying population to aid in mitigating health disparities.
References
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. (1997). ASHP guidelines on pharmacist-conducted patient education and counseling. J Health-Syst Pharm, 54,431–4.
Brown, D. F. (2009). Race-class stereotypes. Journal of Negro Education, 25, 75-78.
Herrnstein, R. J. & Murray, C. (1994). The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Newacheck, P., Jameson, W.J., & Halfon, N. (2004). Health status and income: the impact of poverty on child health. Journal of School Health, 64(6), 229-33.
Paul, L. H., Jane, E. S., & Elizabeth, A. H. (2011). When does a difference become a disparity? Conceptualizing racial and ethnic disparities in health. Journal of School Health, 22(9), 29-33.
Saha, S., Komaromy, M., & Koepsell, T. D. (1999). Patient physician racial concordance and the perceived quality and use of health care. Arch Intern Med, 159, 997–1004.
Smedley, B. D., Stith, A. Y., & Nelson, A. R. (2003). Unequal treatment: confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.