Paper
Friday, July 13, 2007
Reducing Health Disparities Through a Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Health Professions Workforce
Barbara N. Logan, PhD, RN, FAAN and Veronica G. Parker, PhD. School of Nursing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
This presentation will demonstrate the need to increase the diversity of the health professions as a means of reducing health disparities. Despite continued advances in medical sciences and in overall health status in the United States, disparities in health and healthcare persist. Racial and ethnic minority groups continue to suffer disproportionately from various illnesses compared to whites. In addressing health disparities, much emphasis has been placed on the ethnic groups themselves and on the diseases. Insufficient attention has been placed on the healthcare system itself. However, recent national reports have drawn attention to the urgent need to create greater racial and ethnic diversity in the health care professions as one effective strategy to address health disparities. This need is based on demographic trends which consistently show increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the US population, diversity that is fueled both by increased immigration of racial and ethnic groups to the United States and by higher birth rates among these groups. These demographic trends show that at least one of every four patients encountered by health professionals in a clinical setting will not share their cultural, ethnic, nor linguistic backgrounds. A more diversified healthcare workforce has been shown to decrease patient mistrust of the healthcare system, increase patient-provider communication, minimize language and cultural differences between patients and healthcare providers, and increase cultural competencies in the healthcare setting. Minority health professionals are also more likely to work with minority and medically underserved populations, thereby increasing their access to healthcare. Nursing and other health professions schools must change their culture and institute innovative strategies to prepare greater numbers of racial/ethnic minorities who can help to improve health outcomes for all racial and ethnic groups.