The role of race/ethnicity and social class in minority health status

Abstract

Minority health is often considered as a unitary phenomenon; it is often assumed that the health status of minority groups in the United States is similar across groups and much worse than that for whites. Yet the reality is extraordinary diversity. Racial/ethnic groups differ greatly both among and within themselves with regard to health status and with regard to a large number of other indices. Mortality rates around the world generally show an inverse relationship with social class. While this generally holds true in the United States as well, once again we see a strong interaction with race/ethnicity. However, the mediating factors between race/ethnicity and social class, and health status are not well understood. Especially in the face of health care reform, a broad-based research agenda needs to be undertaken so that any restructuring of the health care delivery system is informed by empirical information.