Research Question – Is Poor Quality Healthcare Associated with Racial/ Ethnic Backgrounds
and Socioeconomic Status?
BACKGROUND
People of color and other underserved groups experience higher rates of illness and death across a
wide range of health conditions, limiting the overall health of the nation. Although, many people who are
uninsured are eligible for coverage through Medicaid, CHIP, or the ACA Marketplaces but face barriers to
enrollment including confusion about eligibility policies, difficulty navigating enrollment processes, and
language and literacy problems. Overall, people of color and other marginalized and underserved groups
continue to experience many disparities in accessing and receiving care. For example, people in rural
areas face barriers to accessing healthcare due to “low density of providers and longer travel times to
care”, as well as more limited access to health coverage. Disparities in health and health care are
persistent and prevalent. Major recognition of health disparities began more than three decades ago with
the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health (Heckler Report) in 1985, which
documented persistent health disparities that accounted for 60,000 excess deaths each year and
synthesized ways to advance health equity. Despite large gains in coverage since implementation of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, people of color and other marginalized and
underserved groups remain more likely to be uninsured. Many people who are uninsured are eligible for
coverage through Medicaid, CHIP, or the ACA Marketplaces but face barriers to enrollment including
confusion about eligibility policies, difficulty navigating enrollment processes, and language and literacy
problems. To prove these facts, I will be providing information and evidence in the form of a rhetorical
analysis using work from a couple of pages from a “National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR)” by
The US Department of Healthcare of Health and Human Service (USDHHS).
Rhetorical Situation
The US Department of Healthcare of Health and Human Service created a National Healthcare
Disparities Report to highlight how the disparities in the United States are directly linked to the poor
quality of healthcare many Americans have faced. In this report, the USDHHS makes a connection
between health status and income. “Current data show that some ethnic minorities, as well as low-
income families of whatever race or ethnicity, tend to be in poorer health than other Americans.”
(USDHHS, pg1) With the evidence provided in this research report, the NDHR journal indicates that there
is a correlation between poor health and low-income families. The author of this journal has used their
platform to shed light on how poor quality of healthcare is associated with racial/ ethnic background,
socioeconomic status, and geographical groups.
Audience
In general, the importance of a published medical journal/ report is to warn or educate the public on the
current state of health access and care. In this journal, the author targets a general audience (those who
have access to the journal) as they serve to inform whoever is reading this journal about health care and
its risk factors when it comes to its medical impact on health outcomes. More specifically, this article
focuses primarily on why health disparities exist and how it has affected people across the globe. “The
NHDR provides seven key findings to policymakers, clinicians, health system administrators, and
community leaders who seek to use this information to improve health care services for all populations”
(USDHHS, pg 5) They are addressing the general public in all spaces of work.
Tone/Language
In this journal publication the USDHHS uses scientific and formal language with an informative tone. In
this report, the NHDR gives insight on how factors like race and socioeconomic status affect the quality of
healthcare. “The purpose of this report is to describe differences in quality of and access to health care to
help identify disparities in health outcomes that may be responsive to improvements in health care.”
(NHDR, pg 4) The author of this article provides an explanation as to how disparities in health care are
directly linked to the negative outcomes being reported on their published reports. The NHDR created this
report to show people how unattainable health care has become to many populations.
Purpose/ Author
The USDHHS created this report to bring awareness to how national disparities correlate to accessibility
and poor qualities of healthcare. In this report, the author provides an analysis on how racial,
socioeconomic and ethnic disparities in health care exist and the impact of it from a national perspective.
“This first report clearly demonstrates that racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities are national
problems that affect health care at all points in the process, at all sites of care, and for all medical
conditions–in fact, disparities are pervasive in our health care system.” (USDHHS, pg 5). This report
enlists key findings that will educate policymakers, clinicians, health system administrators, and
community leaders on who these disparities are affecting and how they can help.
Genre
Since this journal uses evidence base data that briefs about a certain the same topics/ issues, it is fair to
say that this piece of writing falls under the genre of science report. In order to classify as science a
science report, the publication must include investigated and evaluated sources that serve to offer
interpretations of texts. The goal of a science research report publication like these two is to engage with
the provided sources in order to offer a unique yet relevant perspective on the issue at hand. For
example, in the article published by the USDHHS, they state, “Current data show that some ethnic
minorities, as well as low- income families of whatever race or ethnicity, tend to be in poorer health than
other Americans. “The evidence of the damaging health consequences of racial and ethnic disparities in
health care continues to be overwhelming.” (USDHHS, pg4) In this article, the author used evidence-
based studies to support and validate the importance of bringing awareness to this national issue.
Medium
This paper is a digital journal/ published report by a government agency that you accessed through the
agency’s web site, provided by the US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
(USDHHS).
Stance
In this article, the author isn’t shy on their stance that national disparities affect the quality of healthcare.
To back up their claims, the NIH invested in studies and reports that coincide with and support their
position. “Many racial and ethnic minorities and individuals of lower socioeconomic status are less likely to
have a usual source of care.” (USDHHS, pg7) Through their studies and integrated analysis they were
able to point out the facts on why and how healthcare disparities affect certain populations. By doing this,
the USDHHS was able to prove and demonstrate why healthcare disparities exist and how it affects
targeted populations nationally.
Synthesis
This publication journal report was successful in many ways. The goal of this report was to spark a
conversation among readers as to why poor healthcare quality exist, who it effects, and how we can fix it.
I believe that not only did this spark a conversation, but it also sparked a movement among people to
demand better healthcare quality across the nation. This lengthy journal provided evidence-based facts
about why healthcare quality in the United States is inaccessible to many minorities and why it affects the
country as a whole. The standpoint was clear from the very beginning and progressed in a very detailed
way. The only thing I would say the author of this article would improve would be to include interview
interactions in this journal of the targeted communities they are currently advocating for. All in all, this
article was a very well written piece of information that resonated well with its reader.
Works Cited
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Rockville, Maryland “National Healthcare Disparities Report” July 2003 pgs 1-255. Accessed on
26 February 2024
