Definition
Racial and ethnic disparities in health stem from the historical legacy and continued patterns of unequal resources and treatment on the basis of race/ethnicity in society (Hummer and Hamilton 2019; Williams and Sternthal 2010). Health disparities encompass differences in physical health, mental health, all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk, activity limitations, healthcare access and utilization, and other metrics of well-being. The existing literature on racial and ethnic disparities in health in the United States mainly considers health patterns among the five major racial/ethnic groups: Hispanics, non-Hispanic (NH) blacks, NH whites, Asians and Pacific Islanders (hereafter Asians), and Native Americans. These categories may not adequately capture the racial/ethnic identity of all Americans, especially the multiracial population. Further, diversity exists within these groups in terms of socioeconomic attainment, country of birth, and several other social,...
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Lariscy, J.T., Tasmim, S., Collins, S. (2020). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_999-1
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