Disparity in healthcare among Black Americans in the United States, a review of the literature

The purpose of this study is to decide if there is discrimination against Blacks in the healthcare system after controlling for insurance. Many barriers to good healthcare have been identified for Black Americans. The main barriers include: lack of insurance, not having a usual source of care, over-reliance on the emergency room for routine care, decreased understanding of the prescribed treatment plan, mistrust of the healthcare community and a culturally insensitive healthcare system. Peer-reviewed journals, government reports and reliable electronic research databases were consulted. Twenty-five articles were selected that related to healthcare disparities, access and minorities in the United States and 13 different definitions of healthcare disparities were found. The results were that Black Americans fare worse in the healthcare system compared to Whites regardless of insurance status. There appears to be a positive correlation between race and disparity in healthcare. Keywords: Disparity in access, minority health, discrimination in healthcare, unequal treatment in health, race and health, unequal health outcomes, Black-White disparities in healthcare and culturally competent care