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Minority health refers to the special medical, psychosocial, and/or health needs of minority groups, including addressing the amelioration and prevention of health disparities. Health disparities refer to inequalities in the overall rate of disease prevalence, incidence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rates among certain groups of people when compared to the general population, as well as differences in the quality, outcomes, cost, or use of and access to health-care services (Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act, 2000). Although primarily associated with health issues among ethnic and racial minorities, minority health also addresses the medical, psychosocial, and/or health needs of people with disabilities and minorities on the basis of age, socioeconomic inequality, and sexual orientation. Thus, any sociodemographic variable could lead to a minority health concern.
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References and Readings
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHD). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/omhd
Institute for the Future. (2003). Health and health care 2010: The forecast, the challenge. Princeton, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000. (2000). 106th congress.
National Council of La Raza (NCLR). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.nclr.org
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.nimhd.nih.gov
Thomas, S. B., Benjamin, G. C., Almario, D., & Lathan, M. J. (2006). Historical and current policy efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in the United States: Future opportunities for public health education. Health Promotion Practice, 7(3), 324–330.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Projections of the population by sex, race and Hispanic origin for the Unite States: 2010 to 2050. http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/files/nation/summary/np2008-t4.xls
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. Office of Minority Health (OMH). (2011). Retrieved from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov
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Garcini, L.M., Morrison, E.J.P., Frierson, G.M. (2013). Minority Health. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1436
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1436
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