AHRQ Report Finds Health Disparities Increased Among Hispanics

Jan 10, 2006

AHRQ Releases 2005 National Healthcare Quality And Disparities Reports. Press Release, January 9, 2006. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.  

The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) released the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report finding that while health care disparities are increasing among Hispanics, the health care gap is decreasing among other racial and ethnic minority groups, the Associated Press reports. For the report, government researchers used 2002 and 2003 data to measure 40 types of health care disparities between patients of various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The report found that Hispanic patients received poorer quality care than white patients for more than half of the core report measures and better quality care for just 16 percent of measures. Areas in which Hispanics received worse care included treatment for diabetes, mental illness and tuberculosis. While African Americans, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives received worse quality care than their white counterparts in many instances, the report found that treatment disparities are decreasing among all four minority patient groups. For instance, 58 percent of the 40 health disparities are decreasing and just 42 percent are increasing among African Americans, compared with 41 percent decreasing and 59 percent increasing among Hispanics. AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy, M.D., cites language barriers as a "potential contributor to health care disparities," noting that Hispanic adults reported a decrease in the quality of patient-provider communication from 87 percent to 84 percent, compared to an increase in quality from 93 percent to 94 percent in white patients. She adds that the report's findings will be a key tool in identifying areas where targeted improvements are most needed to reduce disparities. Report authors conclude that community-based projects based on detailed, local data are needed to successfully address health disparities faced by minority groups.

The AHRQ reports are available online (see link below),  or by calling 1-800-358-9295, or by sending an E-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.