Health Disparity and Its Complexity

Living a healthy life is one of the most fundamental rights of an American. Yet, millions of Americans have no access to healthcare, adequate nutrition, or basic sanitation. Faced with this shameful reality, many minorities living in poverty feel helpless. Not trusting the system, unaware of their rights, and being raised believing that they cannot access healthcare because it’s inaccessible and too expensive creates disparity. Those who are fortunate enough to access healthcare are not treated fairly and discriminated upon. The executive summary claims that “ minority patients perceive higher levels of racial discrimination in healthcare then non-minorities” (pg 10). After reading three different articles addressing what health disparity means and how to eliminate it, I still felt semi-dissatisfied with the suggested intervention models.

Let us look at the different minority groups residing in America. The African American’s mistrust and refusal to treatment is embedded in their introductory experience with the system which exploited and manipulated them. So it is extremely difficult for these people to trust the system (healthcare providers). For those of them who live in poverty, healthcare is inaccessible and unaffordable. Having no health insurance they see no need to walk into a clinic for a single visit that cost them hundreds of dollars to hear what they already know.

In the journal article of Link and Phelan they claimed that “ the interverning mechanism becomes the new and exciting ‘next step’, while the social conditions become the old, passé ‘starting point’”(pg. 84). It seems like some scientists underestimate racism and socioeconomic factors. Some health officials believe that racism is eliminated and these ethnic groups are free. I disagree. These ethnic groups are still enslaved by the system. They have to struggle, work more jobs, make more money (which gives them a sense of freedom) and before they know it -they have to give it all back to the system in a short doctor’s visit. Not only that, they sometimes even experience prejudices from their health providers (waste of money). The executive summary notes that “ Survey research suggests that among white Americans, prejudicial attitudes toward minorities remains more common than not”(pg. 10). Healthcare is just a different way of the system oppressing minorities. This system feels false to many minorities, therefore, breeding mistrust and refusal to comply with treatments. It is basic human behavior. The study of human behavior supports the learned response phenomenon: people are conditioned to respond a certain way. Understaning why they were conditioned is a crusial element in eliminating some of this disparity and strengthening the health provider’s relationship with his patients.


Immingrants from third world countries are also included in the minority group. Their issues is differ from American racial groups. For example, most of these immigrants rely more on cultural/natural healing as apposed to the secular medical system. Health providers sometimes see these rituals as myths. One approach of eliminating health disparity is coming up with a new medical model that accepts different types of healing. Having less of an approach of believing that there is only one way to treat a disease.
In Africa , for example, it goes back to the conquest of Africa. This western mind-set claimed that “ how you are living is wrong”, “ how we are living is right”, “ this is how to do it” approach. For generations tribes knew how to heal the diseases they encountered on daily basis. New foreign diseases emerged from colonization (being exposed to new agents) or changing the way they functioned/healed, creating a bigger disparity in treatment. This is an approach on the belief in science over natural reality. These indogenous cultures revolved around nature, herbs, and whatever the earth provided for them. The healthcare model provided in the states does not believe in spirituality or natural healing rituals. The system only trusts scientifically proven data. These two models of healing sometimes clashes. The way to solve this is to recognize that there is more than one successful approach in treating a patient.

Some Hispanics, on the other hand, are not eligible for healthcare because of their legal residence status. Those of them who are lucky enough to accress healthcare might have some language barrier problems. Based on the executive summary, physicians are under time pressure with limited information, add to that the fact that the physician cannot speak Spanish. Therefore, “ the assembly and use of these datat are affected by many influcences, including various ‘gestalts’ or cognitive shortcuts” relying more on stereotypical constellations which lead to a lower quality of healthcare.

it clashes with something that is totally secular. We are not just dealing with people who are secular and scientific. Rooted in faith and tradition, with a rich fabric of tradition.



Both sides to let go of their prejudices.. if it is part of the system then it will screw me over. Oh this type of healing is a myth and is not proven scientifically.