Disparities In Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Groups

Each year since 2003, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has reported on progress and opportunities for improving health care quality and reducing health care disparities. As mandated by the U.S. Congress in 42 U.S.C. 299, the National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) focuses on “national trends in the quality of health care provided to the American people” while the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) focuses on “prevailing disparities in health care delivery as it relates to racial factors and socioeconomic factors in priority populations.”

In 2010, about 41% of the U.S. population identified themselves as members of racial or ethnic minority groups. More than half of the growth in the total population of the United States between 2000 and 2010 was due to an increase in the Hispanic population. By 2050, it is projected that these groups will account for almost half of the U.S. population.

For the 2010 U.S. census data, the Census Bureau reported that the United States had 42 million Blacks or African Americans (13.6% of the U.S. population); 50.4 million Hispanics or Latinos (16.3%); 17.3 million Asians (5.6%); 1.2 million Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) (0.4%); and 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) (1.7%). Almost half of the AI/AN population reported multiple races and 78% indicated that they lived outside of Federal trust land.

Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to be poor or near poor. In addition, Hispanics, Blacks, and some Asian subgroups are less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to have a high school education.

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Article Credit
“Disparities In Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Groups”
Selected Findings from the 2011 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, September 2012