Health care inequality is social inequality, and a reminder of human injustice towards vulnerable population. According to Whitehead, healthcare disparity is “differences in health that are not only avoidable and unnecessary, but in addition unjust and unfair.” (Cohen, Chavez, & Chehimi, 2012, p.36). Health care disparity is a global issue. Its prevalence can be substantially reduced or eliminated through proactive, active and transparent public health efforts and equitable public health policy. Unfortunately, globally, there are many children without proper healthcare services or sufficient healthcare services. Among children with or without health care services there is enormous health care inequalities between children of a different race, culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic class, and social diversity factors, which impacts the access and availability of healthcare services provided to them.

Social privilege is another factor that influence the healthcare equity among children of a different race, ethnicity and culture. For instance, in the US, the financial system employed in the healthcare system is a regressive approach. Regressive approach allows people with the highest income to pay a smaller percentage of their total income for health insurance, while low income families pay a higher percentage for health insurance (Cohen et al. 2013). Consequently, low income families are left with a huge reduction in disposable income, which deepens the poverty margin.

Children are the future of tomorrow in any community, society or country. Healthcare disparity affecting vulnerable population such as children limits their opportunity in life. It sets the stage for life long-struggle and segregation that inherently exists in any structured social -disproportionate society (Cohen et al. 2013). An unfair system creates a society whereby fair-opportunity distribution among children is not equitably structured, and thus, further creates unfair economic competitiveness and labor productivity barriers (Cohen et al. 2013). Consequently, socioeconomic structure affects and hinders children progressive inclination and plays a bigger role in their assimilation pattern.

It is estimated that, by 2050, the US population will constitute 50% of minority, a staggering increase from 31% minority report of 2000 (Cohen et al. 2013). Currently in America, average black child live in the neighborhood of 21% poverty rate compared to 19% of Hispanic or 11% of Asians or 8% of Caucasians’ poverty rates (Cohen et al. 2013). Furthermore, across different indicators of social disparities, black children are consistently poorly paired to Whites and Asians, an inequality that have multifactoctorial variables. However, in the best conditions; high economic status, better educated families, good neighborhood, etc., Black and Hispanic children are not close to White children on average (Cohen et al. 2013). In the US, the federal government implemented programs for vulnerable population, but it is not sufficient in mediating the impact of the problem (Smith, 2013). In addition, environmental factors affect health inequalities and contributes to the poor quality of life, prevalent in any given community. Hence, it is crucial to address the environmental factors in the communities in order to create a better environment for children. Most importantly, it is important to address the family structures and create efficient and effective family programs for a better future for children of any race.

References

Cohen, L., Chavez, V.,&  Chehimi, S. (2012). Prevention is Primary. Strategies for community well-being. (2^nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Smith, R. (2013). Vulnerable and special population

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