What Are Health Disparities?

Different public and private agencies may have different definitions of a "health disparity" for their own program-related purposes, but these definitions tend to have several things in common. In general, health disparities are defined as significant differences between one population and another. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000, which authorizes several HHS programs, describes these disparities as differences in "the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates." There are several factors that contribute to health disparities. Many different populations are affected by disparities including racial and ethnic minorities, residents of rural areas, women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.

Spotlight on Diabetes Disparities
November is American Diabetes Month. More than 20 million people have diabetes in the United States, and pre-diabetes is far more common than previously believed. About 40 percent of U.S. adults ages 40 to 74, or 41 million people, currently have pre-diabetes. Racial and ethnic minority groups, especially the elderly among these populations, are disproportionately affected by diabetes. On average, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians, and American Indian/Alaska Natives are more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. African Americans are also more likely to suffer complications from diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.

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What is HHS Doing?
The U.S. Department Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched programs that address health disparities directly through programs that engage racial and ethnic minority communities in the fight against specific diseases and conditions that have a major impact in their community. HHS has worked to ensure that programs that are not minority-specific, but which serve large numbers of Americans, are systematically looking for opportunities to prevent, screen, diagnose, refer for follow-up care, and treat health conditions that have a disproportionate and adverse impact on minority populations. Here are two examples of HHS programs:

Diabetes Detection Initiative: Finding the Undiagnosed (DDI): Launched in 2003, DDI is a community-based initiative designed to increase blood testing for individuals who are at high-risk for diabetes and to increase diagnosis for those with unrecognized diabetes. About 5.2 million of the total 18.2 million persons with diabetes in the United States have undiagnosed or unrecognized diabetes. For more information on DDI, visit http://www.ndep.nih.gov/ddi

National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP): The NDEP is taking the lead on delivering the type 2 diabetes prevention message to high risk audiences. The campaign focuses on empowering people at high risk to make modest lifestyle changes that can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. For more information, visit http://www.ndep.nih.gov/

Content Last Modified: 11/18/2005 3:45:00 PM