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In its 2002 publication, “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care," the Institute of Medicine reports that racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a lower quality of health care than nonminorities, even when patients’ insurance status and income are controlled. The study committee found evidence that stereotyping, biases, and uncertainty on the part of health care providers all contribute to unequal treatment. The report calls for cross-cultural training for providers.

Cultural competence can have a real impact on clinical outcomes. Ignoring culture can lead to negative health consequences in many ways. For example, patients may choose not to seek needed services for fear of being misunderstood or disrespected, and patients may not adhere to medical advice because they do not understand or do not trust the provider. Providers may not order appropriate tests or medical interventions due to cross-cultural misunderstandings.

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This section addresses ways in which access, communication, screening, diagnosis, and treatment lead to discrepancies in mortality and disability rates among different cultural groups. It provides information about health disparities related to specific diseases and the relationship of these diseases to cultural competence.


Topics include:

• The Impact of Cultural Competence on Clinical Outcomes
• Disparities among Specific Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Groups
• Reducing Health Disparities in AAPI Populations
• HIV in Young People 13–24: A Brief Review of the Literature
  [PDF – 360KB]
• The Incidence of Disease among Specific Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Groups
• Varied Reactions to Standard Treatments among Different Groups

Links to the following Web sites containing current data about health disparities:

• National Center for Health Statistics: State Health Statistics by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity

• Healthy People 2010: Volumes I & II
• Office of Minority Health Data/Statistics
• Office of Minority Health Resource Center Home Page
• HRSA/Bureau of Primary Health Care Center

For more links, click here.