International Journal of Nursing

Educational Pipeline Programs for Health Research and Health Care Workforce as a Strategy to Address Health Disparity
Ling Shi, Dennis Miezah

Background
Health disparity is a great burden on all countries around the world and affects all aspects of health, especially regarding health behaviors, access to and delivery of health care, and health outcomes. In the United States, despite improvements in population health, disparities greatly persist (Davis et al., 2021). The delivery of equitable healthcare services has become profoundly challenging due to the increasing diversity of the population (Penney, 2022). Healthy People 2030 defined health disparity as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage” (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion). Health disparity adversely affects people who “have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial or ethnic group, religion, socioeconomic status, geographic location, or other characteristics historically linked to racism, discrimination, or exclusion”. These factors may result in poor access to healthcare resources (including health insurance) and adverse health outcomes (such as decreased life expectancy) (Skolarus et al., 2020). The minority population is more likely to be negatively impacted by the disparities in healthcare resulting from less access to healthcare, and unhealthy behaviors which eventually elevate the prevalence of chronic conditions and increase the rates of morbidity and mortality in racial minority communities (Willey et al., 2021). In this study, we reviewed literature on disparities in health behaviors, healthcare accessibility, quality of care, and health outcomes, and discussed the potential use of educational pipeline programs as a strategy to address health disparity issues.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijn.v9n2a1