The Role of Effective Communication in Reducing Health Care Disparities

摘要

It has been 8 years since the landmark report "Unequal Treatment" documented the disparities in health care treatment and outcomes experienced by African Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) "Health Disparities and Inequalities Report 2011" highlights the fact that these inequities continue to plague our health care system, despite ongoing clinical research that documents and offers suggestions to address them.2 Ethnic minorities in general, and African Americans in particular, continue to experience higher incidences of mortality and morbidity, compared to their Caucasian counterparts. These disparate outcomes cannot be adequately explained by genetics, race, environment, or stage of the presenting disease.