Minority Groups and the American Health Care System

Paper Summary:

Approximately 12 percent of America's population is without any formal health care insurance coverage, although some estimates of this proportion are higher. The research problem investigated in this study concerns minority access to health care. The central issue in the study is the determination of the best approach to improve such access, especially in relation to HIV-AIDS patients. The paper begins with a review of health care delivery problems for minority population groups, which is followed by a consideration of the HIV-AIDS issue among minority population groups. The primary focus of this assessment is on health care outcomes.

Paper Outline:

Introduction
Minorities and HIV-AIDS
Interaction with Health Care System
Racial and Ethnic Orientation
Structure and Method of Investigation
Minorities: Health Care Delivery Problems in the Community and Health Care System
Bioethical Issues
Failure to Address Racial Differences
Failure to Address Insurance Status Differences
Health Care Delivery and Accessibility
HMOs and Fee-for-Service Providers
Social Psychological Influences
Distrust of the Health Care System
Health Beliefs of Minorities
Social Identity Influences
Minority Status and HIV-AIDS
HIV-AIDS and Minority Population Groups
Origins
Ethical Issues
HIV-AIDS Health Care for Minorities
Initiatives to Improve Minority Access to Health Care
Proposed Initiative
Conclusions and Recommendations
Restatement of Problem
Summary of Findings
Conclusions
Potential Solutions
Assessment
Recommendations

From the Paper:

"In the 1990s, one initiative designed to broaden access to health care services needs for the nation's indigent involved the development of nurse-managed clinics targeting low-income persons. A nurse practitioner is a specially educated and trained nurse who provides some level of health care directly to patients without supervision by a physician.

Nurse managed clinics for the indigent are prominent in the nation's inner cities. Nurse managed clinics such as those associated with the Kellogg Homeless Project in Washington, the Pine Street Inn in Boston, and the Los Angeles School of Nursing Health Center are delivering health care services to indigent persons at cost savings (compared to more traditional delivery venues) and in areas that would not otherwise be served by health care professionals (Sharp, 1992; Lutz, 1991)."

More papers on Minority Groups and the American Health Care System:

• Research Paper # 26371 : "HIV-AIDS Patients and the Health Care System"
• Research Paper # 27249 : "Impediments to Health Care Access for Low Income Visible Minorities"
• Research Paper # 26338 : "Health Care Access for Low-Income Minorities"

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