The Case for Diversity in Healthcare
Nearly 85,000 deaths occur in the U.S. each year due to health disparities or gaps in the quality of health and health care across all population segments including racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and socioeconomic groups. Studies show that these group receive lower-quality health care than their mainstream counterparts, even when insurance status, income, age and severity of conditions are comparable. Health disparities are a critical challenge to the U.S. health care system.
| BUSINESS CASE FOR DIVERSITY IN HEALTHCARE | ||||
| Diversity Barrier | Issue-at-Large | Diversonomix Solution | ||
| Lack of Health Insurance | People of color lack insurance coverage at higher rates than whites. 44% of low income Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives are uninsured. Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives are also least likely to receive health insurance coverage from their employer compared to other racial and ethnic groups. | In our trainings, mentoring and coaching sessions, Diversonomix partners with medical and insurance personnel to bring widespread awareness of the systemic disparities to adequate healthcare that often plague certain racial/ethnic groups. | ||
| Limited/No Access to Needed Medications and Care | Persons with no health insurance, the poor and near poor are generally unable to get or delay getting needed medical care, dental care, or prescription medicines. | Diversonomix workshops provide an in-depth exploration of cultural similarities and differences and explains both in the context of availability, access, trust and receptivity to medical care and medications. | ||
| Racial/Ethnic Bias and Discrimination | Prolonged individual and institutional discrimination, along with the stigma of inferiority, have been found to adversely affect health among members of an ethnic group. Medical researchers found that physicians tend to perceive African Americans and patients from low and middle socioeconomic status more negatively. | To combat discriminatory practices and help end racial/ethnic insensitivity, we employ the Diversonomix Cultural Sensitivity Awareness Training Program to engage medical personnel at hospitals, clinics and medical schools around the concepts of respect, trust and acceptance of others. | ||
| Poor Doctor-Patient Rapport | Research shows that White non-Hispanic health care providers were significantly less able to establish rapport with, provided poorer explanations of therapies to, and were less able to stimulate feedback from, their Hispanic and Spanish-speaking patients, compared with their non-Hispanic English-speaking patients. |
Using our trademarked program, Diversonomix helps healthcare providers build the cultural competencies needed to better communicate and relate to patients through training and development around diversity and inclusion. |
||
| Inadequate Disease Prevention Resources | The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that at the end of 2005 there were 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the US, 25% of whom do not know they are infected. People of color, particularly African Americans and Hispanics continue to be disproportionately affected by the disease. African Americans and Hispanics represent 70% of new AIDS cases in the US. For African Americans and Hispanics between the ages of 25 and 44, HIV is one of the top five causes of death. | Diversonomix educates medical personnel and staff as to HIV disparity causation and seek to minimize differences in prevention and treatment amongst racial and ethnic groups. | ||
| Deficient Mental Wellness Programs | Suicide ranked among the top five leading causes of death for Asians and Pacific Islanders, American Indians/Alaska Natives and Whites. | Armed with a thorough understanding of how impactful cultural traditions, ethnic norms, religious beliefs and family pride are to conversations around shame, depression and guilt, Diversonomix works with medical, mental health and social work professionals in mental health awareness and suicide prevention. | ||
| Disparate Mental Health Treatment & Counseling | Asians and Pacific Islanders, African Americans and Hispanics are found to be significantly less likely than Whites and non-Hispanic Whites to receive mental health treatment or counseling (5.6%, 7.0% and 7.4% compared with 14.0% and 15.2% respectively). The percentage of those likely to receive mental health treatment or counseling was lower for people with less than a high school education (10.9%) and for people with a high school education (11.8%) than for people with some college education (14.2%). | Diversomix educates mental health professionals on the cultural perceptions and stigmas specific groups hold regarding mental health treatment and strategizes with them to uncover non-traditional methods for increasing mental healthcare utilization by these groups. | ||
| Subpar Drug & Alcohol Abuse Awareness Programming, Counseling & Treatment | In 2006, about 17 million Americans age 12 and over acknowledged being heavy alcohol drinkers, and about 57 million acknowledged having had a recent binge drinking episode.32 About 20.4 million people age 12 and over were illicit drug users, and about 72.9 million reported recent use of a tobacco product. | Tapping into our expertise around the treatment of substance abuse, Diversonomix partners with hospitals, clinics, treatment centers and medical personnel in educating Asians, American Indians/Alaska Natives and other underserved groups on the effects, treatment and prevention of prolonged drug and alcohol usage. | ||
| Lack of Representation | The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report cites a continuing shortage of people of color among health care professionals, even though ethnic people of color make up 27% of the U.S. population and are projected to be 37% in 2025. | Diversonomix works closely with executive leadership to help cultivate internal talent for inclusion in the recruitment and succession planning pipelines. | ||
Print 