Health Equity Research Matters

 

Why is Health Equity Research Important?

The burden of health care disparities in the U.S. results in an estimated difference of 33 years between the longest and shortest living groups1, and “…the combined costs of health inequalities and premature death in the U.S. were $1.24 trillion” between 2003-20062
 

The racial/ethnic minority population groups that presently experience the most disadvantaged health are estimated to grow to the majority of the U.S. population, thereby resulting in an even greater cost-related burden associated with health disparities, inequities, and inequalities.
 

Further, the problem of racial/ethnic health disparities may likely be underestimated in that it is often difficult to collect good data and the controversy surrounding the issue of collecting data with racial/ethnic identifiers has made it extremely difficult to collect these data in certain settings and has led to calls for the elimination of such data.