A study by Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that Hispanic and African-American women are lagging behind white women in many health metrics. In almost every state, the statistics showed a pattern of high incidence of chronic conditions among minority women. The largest disparities are in conditions like HIV, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Along with those problems, minority women were also less likely to have health insurance and less likely to receive prenatal care than white females.
Root causes of this gap in healthcare are believed to be socioeconomic in nature. Things like poverty, access to care, education, and stress may all play a part. Women in general are less likely than men to have adequate healthcare due to their lower average wages, higher likelihood of being on public assistance, and because of single-motherhood. More than ten years ago, the Surgeon General called for an end to health inequalities, but that has clearly not happened yet. It will take big changes to make it happen, including broadening healthcare access to poverty-stricken areas, greater health education, and closing the wage gap between men and women.
See the stories in the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune.
