Healthcare Disparities and Healthcare Advocacy

Concerned about healthcare disparities? Interested in healthcare advocacy?

Pervasive inequalities exist in our healthcare system, on the local and global levels. Today in the United States there are 46 million people who lack health insurance coverage. Physicians and researchers use the term "healthcare disparities" to refer to inequalities in access to healthcare among populations. Social inequalities based on class, race, and ethnicity shape the disparities that exist in our healthcare systems. Disparities in healthcare result in health disparities: the disproportionate experience of health problems (in particular, chronic disease) among certain populations, especially the poor.

A growing area of research focuses on the factors that contribute to healthcare disparities. Many medical schools are beginning to address these issues through special programs for medical students to raise awareness of healthcare disparities.

Explore the links below to learn more about healthcare disparities and how organizations are working in different ways on the local and global levels to address these problems.

• American Medical Student Association
• Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change
• Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
• IU Timmy Foundation
• University of Chicago Center for Health and the Social Sciences