Moving Beyond the Color of Skin—Providing Culturally Appropriate Diabetes Care and Education
Moving Beyond the Color of Skin—Providing Culturally Appropriate Diabetes Care and Education
US Endocrinology Volume 4 Issue 1
Published: November 2009
Published: November 2009
Cultural sensitivity and competence have been hot topics in diabetes care for several years. Ethnic and racial disparities in healthcare have been reported in numerous studies, and the gaps in access to care, quality of care, and health status continue to widen. The fact remains that the American health system fails to provide consistent, high-quality care to minority patients. Healthcare providers can help to decrease the quality gap by becoming aware of the barriers to care and developing culturally sensitive and competent practices. The argument for providing culturally appropriate care bears repeating, and every individual who provides healthcare to a patient who belongs to a minority ethnic group must take steps to eliminate these unnecessary and disturbing discrepancies.
The Case for Culturally Appropriate Care
Minorities currently account for one-third of the US population.1 By 2050, Hispanic, African-American, Asian, Native American/Alaska Native, and other groups will make up nearly 50% of the population.2 This demographic shift will have a considerable impact on the American healthcare system as these racial groups experience a higher incidence of chronic diseases and report significantly poorer health outcomes than non-Hispanic whites. There are many factors that can contribute to these inequalities, some of which include genetic predisposition, socioeconomic status, limited education, geographical location, or a lack of health insurance; however, even when these access-related barriers are controlled, racial and ethnic minorities are still at a disadvantage when it comes to quality of healthcare.3
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Keywords:
diabetes care, diabetes education,
diabetes care, diabetes education,
