Health Disparities and Healthcare Advocacy

Concerned about health disparities? Interested in healthcare advocacy?

Physicians and researchers use the term "healthcare disparities" to refer to inequalities in access to healthcare among populations. Social inequalities based on class, race, and ethnicity shape the disparities that exist in our healthcare systems. Disparities in healthcare result in health disparities: the disproportionate experience of health problems (in particular, chronic disease) among certain populations, especially the poor.

A growing area of research focuses on the factors that contribute to health disparities. Many medical schools are beginning to address these issues through special programs for medical students to raise awareness of health disparities.

Explore the links below to learn more about health disparities and how organizations are working in different ways on the local and global levels to address these problems.

• American Medical Student Association
• Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change
• Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
• IU Timmy Foundation
• University of Chicago Center for Health and the Social Sciences