title: Understanding disparities in health care access--and reducing them--through a focus on public health.
abstract: Attempts to explain disparities in access to health care faced by racial and ethnic minorities and other underserved populations often focus on individual-level factors such as demographics, personal health beliefs, and health insurance status. This article proposes an examination of these disparities-and an effort to redress them-through the lens of public health. Public health agencies can link people to needed services such as immunizations, testing, and treatment; ensure the availability of health care; ensure the competency of the public health and personal health care workforce; and evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based services. Approaching disparities through a public health framework can provide the foundation for developing more robust evidence to inform additional policies for improving access and reducing disparities.
authors: RAND Corporation, in Santa Monica, California, USA. derose@rand.org
authors: Kathryn Pitkin
authors: KP
authors: Derose
authors: Carole Roan
authors: CR
authors: Gresenz
authors: Jeanne S
authors: JS
authors: Ringel
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D015438:Health Behavior; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000208:ethnology; D054525:Minority Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D011634:Public Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States