Health Disparities in the African Community

By Rev. Dr. Floyd H. Flake

For many years, African American mortality rates have exceeded that of their White counterparts. More babies die as infants; more young men die early of victims of crimes; and overall, African Americans die at a younger age.

All indicators suggest that the only way to change these statistics is with new, holistic approaches to physical, mental and emotional wellness. Exercising, taking dietary supplements, vacationing and meditating are some of the most obvious means of addressing the problem.

The Best Available

The best protection available to guard against health failure, discrimination in health care and early mortality is prevention. We must protect and preserve our bodies, the “temples” which God gave us, by exercising, using vitamins, dietary supplements and participating in the processes that allow for spiritual, physical, mental and emotional cleansing.

Recent articles indicate that there are many racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. There-fore, it is all the more imperative that African Americans and Latinos take additional responsibility for their own mental and physical well-being. According to studies by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), “17 percent of Hispanic and 16 percent of Black Americans report that they are in only fair or poor health compared with 10 percent of White Americans.” These conditions are exacerbated by limited access to primary care and prejudice in referrals for diagnosis and treatment.

• About 20 percent of African Americans and 30 percent of Hispanics lack a usual course of healthcare compared with less than 16 percent of White Americans.
• African American children and Hispanic children are nearly three times as likely as White children to have no usual source of healthcare.
• African Americans and Hispanic Americans are therefore more likely to rely on hospitals or clinics for their usual source of care than are White Americans—16 percent and 13 percent respectively, vs. 8 percent.

In Diagnosis and Treatment…

• African Americans are 13 percent less likely to undergo coronary angioplasty, and one-third less likely to undergo bypass surgery than Whites for heart disease.
• Asthma—among preschool children hospitalized for asthma, only 7 percent of Black and 2 percent of Hispanic children, compared with 21 percent of White children, are prescribed routine medications to prevent future Asthma-related hospitalizations.
• Breast Cancer—the length of time between abnormal screening mammograms and the following diagnosis test to determine whether a woman has breast cancer, is more than twice as long in Black, Hispanic and Asian-American women as for White women.
• HIV-Human Immunodeficiency Virus—African Americans with HIV infection are less likely to be on antiretroviral therapy, less likely to receive prophylaxis for Pneumocystis pneumonia, less likely to be receiving protease inhibitors than other persons with HIV.
• Nursing Home Care—African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic residents of nursing homes are less likely than White residents to have sensory and communication aids, such as glasses and hearing aids.

The American Medical Association study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine dated Nov. 25, 1999 and reported in May 2000, graphically details these and other disparities.

Professor Vernellia R. Randall has developed extensive bibliographies in her publications on the topic of minority healthcare disparities: Minorities Health Access, 1997; Discrimination and Quality, 1998; and Patient Selection Criteria, 2000.

Sources: Papers:

Professor Vernellia R. Randall: Institute on Race, Healthcare and Law; The University of Dayton School of Law, Email: Randall@udayton.edu.

Fact Sheet: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), February 2000; Publication #00-P041; Rockville MD; http://www.ahrg.gol/research/disparit.htm

News article: Deborah L. Shelton., A.M. News, May 1, 2000