Health Care Disparities

In the 2003 NHDR, the lack of consensus on a definition of "disparities" was noted. For example, in Healthy People 2010 (HP2010), in pursuit of the overarching goal of eliminating health disparities, all differences among populations in measures of health and health care are considered evidence of disparities². At the other end of the spectrum, in the report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, disparities are defined as differences that remain after taking into account patient needs and preferences and the availability of health care³. Still others associate health care disparities with adverse health outcomes, personal responsibility, or provider prejudice.

To monitor and track progress in eliminating disparities over time, national data on disparities are needed. Because existing Federal data typically do not capture patient needs or preferences for care, in the NHDR a broad definition of disparities is used and, consistent with HP2010, any differences among populations are considered disparities. While many differences in care are documented in this report, no inferences about causes of disparities should be drawn. Specifically, findings about racial and ethnic differences in care should not be interpreted as evidence of racial or ethnic bias in the health care system.

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