Eliminating Health Disparities: Measurement and Data Needs

Disparities in health and health care across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States are well documented. The reasons for these disparities are, however, not well understood. Current data available on race, ethnicity, SEP, and accumulation and language use are severely limited. The report examines data collection and reporting systems relating to the collection of data on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position and offers recommendations.

• Front Matter
• Executive Summary
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Importance of Data on Race, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Position, and Acculturation in Understanding Disparities in Health and Health Care
• 3 Measuring Race, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Position, and Acculturation
• 4 DHHS Collection of Data on Race, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Position, and Acculturation and Language Use
• 5 State-Based Collection of Data on Race, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Position, and Acculturation and Language Use
• 6 Private-Sector Collection of Data on Race, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Position, and Acculturation and Language Use
• References
• Appendix A Descriptions of National Health and Health Care Surveys
• Appendix B Workshop on Improving Racial and Ethnic Data in Health
• Appendix C Recommendations on the Use of Socioeconomic Position Indicators to Better Understand Racial Inequalities in Health
• Appendix D The Role of Racial and Ethnic Data Collection in Eliminating Disparities in Health Care
• Appendix E State Collection of Racial and Ethnic Data
• Appendix F Collection of Data on Race and Ethnicity by Private-Sector Organizations: Hospitals, Health Plans, and Medical Groups
• Appendix G Racial and Ethnic Data Collection by Health Plans
• Appendix H Biographical Sketches