Martin Luther King is quoted to have said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” Health disparities are a clear challenge to the United States of America, both nationally and globally. Disparities in healthcare and health outcomes occur when those outcomes are largely driven by racial or ethnic differences and not due to access-related factors, clinical needs, or appropriateness of intervention.
1 Differences between populations and the presence of disease and health outcomes are well documented in the United States. These disparities primarily exist in minorities groups, including African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. These groups have higher incidence of chronic disease, mortality, and poor overall health outcomes.
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