Related Guides on this Topic
You may also want to see these guides on related topics:
Tribal Health, Migrant
Health
Introduction
When one refers to minorities in the United States, it is generally in reference to African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. In the United States, it has been documented that such minorities have an overall health status of lesser quality than that of non-minorities. The health disparity between minorities and non-minorities has arisen and continued throughout the years due to a variety of factors including poverty and lack of education.
Poverty is more of a problem for minorities than non-minorities in both rural and urban communities. Another issue regarding health disparity is lack of education. Data from the Task Force on Black and Minority Health Care reveals that minorities may not be as informed about as many health concerns as non-minorities. Cultural reasons, social stress, diet, and lifestyle behaviors are factors that can be associated with this health disparity.
Source: Minorities in Rural America: An Overview of Population Characteristics, South Carolina Rural Health Research Center, 2003.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
Arctic Health
Web site
An information portal to issues affecting the health and well-being of northern-most inhabitants including Alaska Natives.
Contextual Health Profile for Rural Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations
Web site
Tool for health planners on culturally competent health programming. The profile is a comprehensive description of the health status of a specific community. Includes community health status information typically in a community health needs assessment, as well as cultural and environmental information.
Delta Resource Project
Web site
This web site provides information about funding opportunities and a wide variety of other resources to grantees that are part of ORHP's Delta States Rural Development Network program as well as others interested in rural healthcare and well-being in the Mississippi Delta Region.
Factline: Tracking Health in Underserved Communities
Web site
Information and resources on health disparities in underserved communities. Includes sections on women's health, mental health, minority health, and health care access.
HRET Disparities Toolkit
Web site
Provides hospitals, health systems, clinics, and health plans information and resources for systematically collecting race, ethnicity, and primary language data from patients.
National Association of State Offices of Minority Health Directors
Web site
Lists contact information for directors of state offices of minority health.
NRHA's Rural Minority and Multicultural Health Information Warehouse
Web site
Central source for finding information about rural minority and multicultural health. Lists research studies, reports, journal articles, and rural minority population data. Prepared by the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center with funding from the Office of Rural Health Policy.
Office of Minority Health Resource Center
Web site
An information service that provides publications, articles, and database searches on minority health topics. Can be contacted by phone at 1.800.444.6472, or by e-mail at info@omhrc.gov.
Race, Ethnicity and Health Care: Access to Care for Vulnerable Populations
Tutorial
Discusses the role of race and ethnicity in health care.
Race, Ethnicity, and Health Care: The Basics
Web site
Contains a reference library with documents regarding demographics; health status; health coverage, access to care, and quality of care; state-level data, and public opinion.
Rural Health Research: Minority health
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of minority health, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
State Offices of Minority and Multicultural Health Liaison Map
Web site
Provides contact information for state offices of minority and multicultural health through an interactive map.
USA-Mexico Border Health
Web site
Assists individuals with locating and competing for funding opportunities in order to address health care needs in the U.S.-Mexico Border region. Lists funding opportunities and information resources on topics relevant to border health.
Maps & Map Collections
Hispanic/Latino Populations
Geographic coverage: United States
Printable map that shows the percent of population who are Hispanic or Latino. Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing, 2000.
Date: 2000
Minority Populations
Geographic coverage: United States
Printable map that shows the percent of population who are minorities. Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing, 2000.
Date: 2000
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
Access to Care Among Rural Minorities: Children (Report)
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Charity Moore, Karin Willert Roof, Elizabeth G. Baxley, Michael E. Samuels
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Examines rural minority children and the factors affecting their health insurance coverage and health services use. Includes policy recommendations and statistical information.
Date: 11 / 2002
Access to Care Among Rural Minorities: Older Adults (Report)
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Michael E. Samuels, Charity G. Moore, Joette Gdovin
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Examines health status and health services use among poor and minority older adults in non-metro areas. Findings included: A greater proportion of non-metro than metropolitan elders report limitations in their ability to carry out activities of daily living (44% versus 37%). Government programs (Medicare and Medicaid) are the principal source of insurance for non-metro minority elders.
Date: 10 / 2002
Access to Care Among Rural Minorities: Working Age Adults
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Michael E. Samuels, Charity G. Moore
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Describes access to health care among working age adults of rural minorities. Data from the 1997 - 1998 National Health Interview Survey were used to examine health insurance coverage and recent physician visits among rural working age adults. Low income and low levels in the non-metro areas translated into jobs that did not offer health insurance. Non-metro minorities were particularly disadvantaged, with rates of uninsurance ranging from 47% among the Hispanic population to 30% among non-metro African Americans.
Date: 01 / 2003
Eight Americas: Investigating Mortality Disparities across Races, Counties, and Race-Counties in the United States
Author(s): Christopher J. L. Murray, Sandeep C. Kulkarni, Catherine Michaud, Niels Tomijima, Maria T. Bulzacchelli, Terrell J. Iandiorio, Majid Ezzati
Describes a study that used race, location of the county of residence, population density, race-specific county-level per capita income, and cumulative homicide rate to divide the U.S. population into eight distinct groups, in order to explore the causes of the health disparities among these groups. Includes life expectancy comparisons among groups, with several groups specifically identified as rural.
Journal citation: PLoS Medicine Volume 3 Issue 9
Date: 09 / 2006
Five Basic Facts on Immigrants and Their Health Care (Summary)
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Addresses how immigrants use and affect the health care system, and includes key facts about immigrants and health care.
Date: 03 / 2008
Health Care Disparities in Rural Areas: Selected Findings from the 2004 National Healthcare Disparities Report
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Presents findings related to rural health care from the 2004 disparities report by describing the quality of care for diabetes and heart attack, access to health insurance coverage, and utilization of dental services. Examines socioeconomic and racial disparities and tracks progress in eliminating them.
Date: 05 / 2005
Health Coverage and Access to Care Among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Family Foundation
Examines the health coverage, access to health care, and health status of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups in the United States, and finds that certain subgroups are doing worse than others in terms of health insurance coverage and access to health care.
Date: 04 / 2008
Health Disparities Among Pacific Islanders
Author(s): Neal A. Palafox, Momi Kaanoi
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of Minority Health
Provides statistics on health disparities among Pacific Islanders as well as examines their tobacco use in relation to the Healthy People 2010 objective.
Date: 06 / 2000
National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2006
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Comprehensive national overview of disparities in health care. Covers health care quality and health care access issues. Includes a section on health disparities experienced in rural areas.
Date: 12 / 2006
National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2007
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Comprehensive national overview of disparities in health care. Describes the quality of and access to care for multiple subgroups across the United States, and also represents a source of information for tracking the Nation's progress over time.
Date: 02 / 2008
New Requirements for Citizenship Documentation in Medicaid
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Family Foundation
Provides information on the new federal requirement that all U.S. citizens and nationals applying for or renewing their Medicaid coverage provide documentation of their citizenship status and examines the implications for Medicaid beneficiaries and the states.
Date: 03 / 2007
Prevalence of Health Related Behavioral Risk Factors Among Non-Metro Minority Adults
Author(s): P. Daniel Patterson, Charity G. Moore, Janice C. Probst, Michael E. Samuels
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Data on tobacco use, seat belt use, and alcohol consumption among rural minority adults. Includes recommendations and detailed data tables.
Date: 08 / 2003
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Health Care: A Chartbook
Author(s): Holly Mead, Lara Cartwright-Smith, Karen Jones, Christal Ramos, Kristy Woods, Bruce Siegel,
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
Presents evidence linking racial and ethnic health disparities to the overall performance of local health care systems.
Date: 03 / 2008
Reducing Health Disparities for Latino Immigrants by Strengthening Communities
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Family Foundation
Examines the ways in which the social, economic, and physical environments of Latino immigrant communities affect health and contribute to health disparities.
Date: 05 / 2004
Rural Research Focus: Minorities in Rural America
Author(s): Michael E. Samuels, Janice Probst, Saundra Glover
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Discusses a report by the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center on rural minority poverty. Brief summary of full report and selected statistics, as well as policy implications, are included.
Date: 2003
Services for Hispanic Children and Families
Author(s): Beth A. Stroul
Sponsoring organization: National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health
Summarize issues and challenges of providing mental health services for children and their families from diverse populations.
Date: 07 / 2006
Strategic Framework for Improving Racial/Ethnic Minority Health and Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities
Intended to help guide, organize and coordinate the systematic planning, implementation and evaluation of efforts within OMH, DHHS and across the nation to achieve better results relative to minority health improvements and health disparities reductions.
Date: 2006
Organizations
CDC Office of Minority and Women's Health (OMWH)
Federal government
Works to assure that the burden and impact of infectious diseases among racial and ethnic minorities and women is acknowledged and addressed through research, surveillance, education, training, and program development. Part of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC's Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHH)
Federal government
Aims to accelerate CDC’s health impact in the U.S population and to eliminate health disparities for vulnerable populations as defined by race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, geography, gender, age, disability status, risk status related to sex and gender, and among other populations identified to be at-risk for health disparities.
HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH)
Federal government
Serves as a national resource and referral service on minority health issues. Part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
National Alliance for Hispanic Health
National organization
Mission is to improve the health and well being of Hispanics. The Alliance informs consumers, supports health and human service providers in the delivery of quality care, improves the science base for accurate decision making by promoting better and more inclusive research, promotes appropriate use of technology, insures accountability, advocates on behalf of Hispanics, and promotes philanthropy. Information in English and Spanish.
National Association of State Offices of Minority Health (NASOMH)
National organization
National nonprofit organization that assesses and works to improve the effectiveness of State minority health/health disparity programs. Focuses on the development and transference of skill sets to increase awareness of health and service disparities, monitor the progress of State offices; and communicate, document, and champion best practices at the State level in eliminating health disparities.
National Rural Health Association: Minority and Multicultural Affairs
National organization
NRHA committee focused on minority health issues in rural areas.
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