Citation

Hunt B, Whitman S. J. Racial Ethn. Health Disparities 2015; 2(1): 93-100.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s40615-014-0052-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVEs In order to assess progress in eliminating health disparities, a Healthy People 2010 goal, both at the national level and in Chicago, Illinois, we examined whether disparities between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White persons widened, narrowed, or stayed the same between 1990 and 2010.

METHODS We examined 17 health status indicators. In order to determine whether a disparity widened, narrowed, or remained unchanged between 1990 and 2010, we examined the relative percentage difference in rates at both time points and at each location. We calculated P values to determine whether changes in relative percentage difference over time were statistically significant.

RESULTS Disparities between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White populations widened for 8 of the 17 health status indicators examined for the USA (6 significantly), whereas in Chicago the majority of disparities widened (9 of 17, 4 significantly). The mortality gap is responsible for more than 60,000 excess Black deaths per year in the USA.

CONCLUSIONS Despite substantial effort and funds aimed at meeting the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating health disparities, minimal progress has been made.

Language: en