Yenny Dominguez

Health Disparity Table
Yenny Dominguez.
Health Assignment
Asthma Inpatient Hospitalization Rate

In this table chart I looked at the differences in health between Latinos/Hispanics, Blacks non-Hispanics and Whites non-Hispanics in Salem, Lawrence and Massachusetts. The chart is based on the Asthma Inpatient Hospitalization rate, when looking at the table it looks like Blacks; non-Hispanics are the ones suffering the most asthma relate problems in Massachusetts in general. The asthma inpatient hospitalization rate for blacks in MA as a whole is of 374.9 compare to 304.7 for Latinos/Hispanics and whites with only 112.8. According to the chart whites are the groups with less asthma inpatient hospitalization rate in Salem, Lawrence and Massachusetts as a whole compared to Blacks and Hispanics. When comparing Salem and Lawrence, Latinos/Hispanics asthma inpatient hospitalization rate was higher in Lawrence compared to that of Salem. In which the rate of Inpatient hospitalization in Salem was of 211.6 compared to 230.9 in Lawrence. Whereas for white the results were similar too, in which in Salem the asthma inpatient hospitalization rate was of 133.9 compared to 194.8 in Lawrence. For both Hispanics and whites, living in Lawrence correlates with higher asthma inpatient hospitalization.

On the other hand, something that I found really interesting and that I didn’t expect was the high level of asthma inpatient hospitalization rate for Blacks in Salem. In which it consisted of 649.3 in Salem, this was the highest rate in the chart. Whereas the asthma inpatient hospitalization rate for Blacks in Lawrence consisted of 343.2 which was less than in Salem. I didn’t expect this; I thought that the Asthma inpatient hospitalization rate in Lawrence will be much higher for blacks because for Latinos and for whites that rate was much higher in Lawrence than in Salem.

Based on the results from the chart, I believe that we are still segregating minorities by isolating them and placing them in disadvantages areas where there is more contamination, more pollution and where there are more likely to suffer from more health problems such as asthma due to the environmental conditions that they lived in. The first step that we need to take into consideration in terms of health disparities among blacks and minorities is to stop segregating them in these areas where the levels of pollution are higher. We should at least make the areas where they lived safer and less contaminating.

The environmental factors play an important role in this pattern, where we can observe that disadvantage people are most likely to live in areas where there is much a higher level of pollution that can contribute to increase numbers in health problems. Even doubt the entire population is exposed to contamination, not all of us are exposed to it in the same level. In which it is not the same to live in areas where pollution is higher than in areas where pollution is less higher and where there are better resources to treat asthma problems. Also the way of living of many people that lived in this disadvantage areas are very different than those who lives in more advantages areas where they have more opportunities for a better healthy life style, they have the resources to eat more healthy food, to have more health insurance that can cover their visit to doctors and they have the option to better treatments.

In order to decrease the patterns of health disparity, the second step that we need to take into consideration is to give more health coverage to blacks and minorities. This had been a traditional problem in our country; therefore I believe we should do something to eradicate it as soon as possible. We know that in the United States there are many people that don’t have health insurance; I believe that this should be a right instead of a privilege. Every country should offer to it people a kind of security regardless their race or economic status. Therefore why do we want to become citizens of a country that doesn’t address our basic needs? This is why I think that health should be provided for everyone specially minorities groups, in which we can observe in the chart that they are the ones needing it the more and they are the ones suffering the consequences of the disparities that had existed and still exist in the United States.

Another important point that I would like to emphasizes is that there is lack of information and resources available to blacks and other minority groups, which makes it harder for these groups to seek out for treatment and help. The more informative the community is, the better they will take steps to improve their living conditions and to find treatment for the health problems that they may encounter. We can create prevention and intervention programs in this types of communities and give them better resources, prepared them more and educated them in terms of the health issued that their community faced. At the end looking at this chart make me realized that the disparities that minorities faced is almost present in every aspect of their lives, in which those disparities are not only on education, socioeconomic levels but in health as well. Those disparities are what is preventing us from progressing in this country and at the end it will only create bigger problems in the future.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2012 at 3:28 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.