Communication and Racial Inequities in Health Care

There are striking inequities in health outcomes between racial and ethnic groups in the United States, with many groups experiencing significantly poorer health outcomes than members of the racial majority, White (non-Hispanic) health care consumers. These disturbing health disparities exist even when controlling for differences in income and health insurance. Racial disparities in health outcomes are related to communication problems within the health care system, which lead to unequal access to health information and inadequate participation in health care decision making. Specific strategies for improving health communication to overcome these problems and to help reduce disparities in health outcomes are suggested.