Introduction to Special Section on Health Disparities

In this special section, we highlight the diverse ways in which behavioral medicine can contribute to the study of racial/ethnic health disparities. Health disparities are often described as differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, burden of disease, and other adverse health conditions or outcomes between minority and majority population groups [1]. Although this special section focuses on racial/ethnic health disparities, disparities have also been observed in gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), geography, sexual orientation, disability, and special health care needs. Disparities occur among groups who have persistently experienced historical trauma, social disadvantage or discrimination, and systematically experience worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged social groups. In February 1998, President Clinton made a commitment on behalf of the U.S. government to work toward the elimination of health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations by the year 2010. Although we have advanced our knowledge and approaches to reducing disparities, they still persist. One of the most striking demographic characteristics in health statistics continues to be mortality differences betweenAfrican Americans andWhites. The ageand genderadjusted death rate from all causes is significantly higher in African Americans than inWhites [2]. There are some limited positive signs for the health of minorities, however. For example, McWilliams et al. found differences between Black or Latino and White adults did not significantly change from 1999 to 2006 on four measures of disease control (ageand sex-adjusted rates of blood pressure control, mean systolic blood pressure, glycemic control, and mean hemoglobin A1c levels), although differences in rates of glycemic control between Latino and White adults broadened over that time period [3]. The goal of this special section is to contribute to our understanding of current health problems experienced by America's major races/ethnicities and economic groups. The papers fall into three general areas: testing of potential explanations and risk factors for disparities, identification of potential resilience factors that might narrow disparities, and interventions to improve health outcomes in populations affected by health disparities. They span a range of health conditions, risks, perceptions, and behaviors (e.g., asthma, obesity, hypertension control, coronary artery disease, self-rated mental and physical health, mortality, smoking) across the life span (from children to middle age to older adults), and investigate health disparities among Black and subpopulations of Latino men and women, including Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. Three papers investigated risk factors for worse health outcomes and behaviors, such as low SES, discrimination, and illness representations [4–6]. In a sample of Black and White older adults, Thorpe et al. found that more than half (60%) of racial/ethnic differences in all-cause mortality K. E. Whitfield (*) Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA e-mail: kwhit1@duke.edu