Racial disparities in health care have been well-documented, although the reasons for many of these disparities remain obscure. An intriguing possibility is that geographic factors--the places where certain groups live or obtain health care--contribute to racial disparities, especially in the use of new medical technologies. This Issue Brief examines racial disparities in the use of life-saving...

Racial disparities in health care and health outcomes are a disturbing feature of the American health care system. Efforts to reduce or ameliorate these disparities must be informed by an understanding of the factors that underlie and contribute to them. The papers in this issue are based on a recent conference that was held at the University of Chicago to address this problem. Socioeconomic st...

Objective. This article examines racial health disparities among the elderly in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It also explores whether these disparities differ among income groups. Methods. The study follows the conceptual framework developed by LaVeist (1994). A multistage analysis and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition are used to explore the sources of racial disparities in health. Results. White seniors rep...

BACKGROUND Racial/ethnic disparities are associated with lack of health insurance. Although the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provides health insurance to low-income children, many of whom are members of racial/ethnic minority groups, little is known about whether SCHIP affects racial/ethnic disparities among children who enroll. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study wer...

UNLABELLED The purpose of our review is to evaluate critically the recent literature on racial and ethnic disparities in pain and to determine how far we have come toward reducing and eliminating disparities in pain. We examined peer-reviewed research articles published between 1990 and early 2009 that focused on racial and ethnic disparities in pain in the United States. The databases used wer...

Alarming disparities in population health and wellness in the United States have led to multidisciplinary research efforts to create health equity. Identifying disparities, elucidating the etiological bases of disparities, and implementing solutions to eliminate disparities are part of the U.S. national health agenda. Racial and ethnic disparities have been identified throughout the cancer cont...

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are well documented and can be discussed in 3 broad categories: health system factors, patient-level factors, and patient/provider interaction. Clinicians and others working in health care and related fields are knowledgeable about disparities in health, but the general US population is not. Racial/ethnic disparities are most striking in life expecta...

This article discusses racial and ethnic disparities from a public health perspective, specifically why they threaten to impede the efforts to improve the nation's health. The authors (1) provide background information, including a review of the Institute of Medicine report on health care disparities; (2) describe the racial and ethnic compositions of the individuals in the emergency department...

CONTEXT Access to high quality primary care was identified by Healthy People 2010 as one of the mechanisms through which racial and ethnic disparities in health might be reduced. Despite the well-established connections between good primary care and health, the scientific evidence on whether good primary care can reduce racial disparities in health is sparse. OBJECTIVE To examine whether bett...

CONTEXT Pain has significant socioeconomic, health, and quality-of-life implications. Racial- and ethnic-based differences in the pain care experience have been described. Racial and ethnic minorities tend to be undertreated for pain when compared with non-Hispanic Whites. OBJECTIVES To provide health care providers, researchers, health care policy analysts, government officials, patients, an...