Minority Health and Health Equity Archive

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769

Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

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Author: search.filters.author.Fine, Michael J.Subject: search.filters.subject.Access To Healthcare

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    Advancing Health Disparities Research Within the Health Care System: A Conceptual Framework
    (2006) Kilbourne, Amy M.; Switzer, Galen; Hyman, Kelly; Crowley-Matoka, Megan; Fine, Michael J.
    We provide a framework for health services-related researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to guide future health disparities research in areas ranging from detecting differences in health and health care to understanding the determinants that underlie disparities to ultimately designing interventions that reduce and eliminate these disparities. To do this, we identify potential selection biases and definitions of vulnerable groups when detecting disparities. The key factors to understanding disparities were multilevel determinants of health disparities, including individual beliefs and preferences, effective patient-provider communication, and the organizational culture of the health care system. We encourage interventions that yield generalizable data on their effectiveness, and that promote further engagement of communities, providers, and policy makers to ultimately enhance the application and the impact of health disparities research.
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    Health Disparities: The Importance of Culture and Health Communication
    (2004) Thomas, Stephen B.; Fine, Michael J.; Ibrahim, Said A.
    The root causes of health disparities are numerous and relate to individual behaviors, provider knowledge and attitudes, organization of the health care system, and societal and cultural values. Disparities have been well documented,even in systems that provide unencumbered access to health care, such as the VA Healthcare System, suggesting that factors other than access to care (e.g., culture and health communication) are responsible. Efforts to eliminate health disparities must be informed by the influence of culture on the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of not only minority populations but also public health policymakers and the health professionals responsible for the delivery of medical services and public health interventions designed to close the health gap. There is credible evidence suggesting that cultural norms within Western societies contribute to lifestyles and behaviors associated with risk factors for chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular disease). This is the context in which smoking cessation, increased physical activity, and dietary regulation are prime targets for intervention.