This essay evaluates health disparities and improving access to quality healthcare. One of Healthy People’s overarching goals is focusing on disparities. In 2000, its goal was to reduce health disparities among Americans. Disparities form some of the barriers to quality healthcare. In Healthy People 2010, the goal was to eliminate these health disparities. In Healthy People 2020, that goal expanded to achieve health equity, eliminate public health disparities and improve the health of all groups. Healthy People 2020 defines health equity as the “attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Achieving access to quality healthcare equity requires valuing everyone equally. It requires focusing on ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and health care disparities.
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RACIAL AND ETHNIC HEALTH DISPARITIES

For racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, public health disparities take on many forms. There are higher rates of chronic disease and premature death in other races compared to the rates among whites. Race and ethnicity should never be barriers to quality healthcare. However, this pattern is not universal. Some minority groups, most notably, Hispanic immigrants, have better health outcomes than white people. This “immigrant paradox” appears to diminish with time spent in the United States. Even with better access to quality healthcare, there are declines in the health of majority groups. For example, white females experience increased death rates due to suicide and alcohol-related diseases
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ADDRESSING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS TO IMPROVE HEALTH EQUITY

This section discusses the social factors that affect access to quality healthcare. There are increased efforts to evaluate and implement public policy interventions to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in health. To reduce public health disparities, we should apply these supportive public policies. They should address downstream environmental, geographical, occupational, educational, and nutritional social determinants of health. The barriers to quality healthcare may be a result of the social determinants of health. These are the underlying individual, community, and systemic issues related to health inequities. We should integrate these issues into medical education at all levels. Health care professionals should also be knowledgeable about screening and identifying social determinants of health.
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