While Americans have generally better health and live longer than people in most countries, the same cannot be said for America’s minorities and culturally diverse populations, including the indigent. A recent survey conducted among the seven largest minority populations (African-Americans, Latinos, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese) found that “Ethnic minorities tend to have less access to health care and prevention services than the population at large. It also found that needs associated with low income—such as lack of health care insurance and language barriers—do contribute” (Health, 1998, 1). Another interesting finding of this survey shows the complexities behind the causes for why culturally diverse populations have a lack of access to health care. For instance, while all of the minority groups surveyed had similarities when it comes to lack of access to health care, they also had culturally-specific factors that contributed to the lack of health care. For example, in the Vietnamese population it was reported that “Two-thirds of Vietnamese respondents are living in households with incomes at less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. A third reported having no health insurance, and more than half said they had delayed getting medical attention for a problem in recent months” (Health, 1998, 1). However, all seven ethnic groups reported that they had been the victims of discrimination within the health care system.
Many argue that this problem needs to be addressed because it costs Americans more in the long run. Culturally diverse groups often put off seeking health care until they need emergency care or their health problems become more severe. One population in the literature that historically experiences problems with access to quality health care and prevention services is the African-American population. Health care, or access to it, is directly related to socioecono...