In my work with the Hispanic/Latino community, I see firsthand the effects of health disparities in our country. While I’ve seen great progress in recent years in addressing these disparities and in finding solutions for better health for all populations, great challenges remain.
Luckily, we have data that help define the problem. United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings® measures disparities by gender, urbanicity, race, age, education, and income for a variety of health outcomes and behaviors, state-by-state. Focusing on race, in my home state of California, 21.8% of the white population is obese. But obesity is significantly more prevalent in minority communities, affecting 34.8% of the black population, 38.6% of the American Indian population, and 30.5% of the Hispanic population.
So how can we ease the inequality in overall health in America?
In my Thought Leaders Perspective that I recorded for America’s Health Ranking’s 25th year, I placed hope in promising trends that could help close the minority health-disparity gap. I believe that innovations in communication and technology will be key to increasing minorities’ chances at better health.
Telemedicine could solve such problems as access to care and language barriers during treatment. Telemedicine could bring specialists to rural areas and poor urban neighborhoods, allowing bilingual doctors to treat non-English speaking patients and, in general, create better access to health care for minority populations. We know the value of engaging patients with their own language and culturally competent care. In fact, United Health Foundation supports the growth of culturally competent care through its Diverse Scholars Initiative, which awards scholarships to low-income minority students pursuing careers as primary care health professionals.
Technology is also a factor, making it easier than ever to share health information. Technology encourages an owned and shared responsibility for healthy lifestyles. I’ve seen this happen in the Hispanic community—and there is definitely an increasing interest from the Hispanic media for more engaging and actionable health information.
I call innovation the “great democratizer” because I believe health apps, improved communication technologies, and better health education are giving minority populations the tools they need to engage in their own health. I look forward to seeing continued progress in the coming years as we close the gaps in state health.
Blog Author
Russell Bennett
Russell A. Bennett is Vice President of Latino Health Solutions at UnitedHealthcare (UHC) in Cypress, California. He is leading efforts to enhance the company’s resources to serve and grow the Hispanic/Latino membership. UnitedHealthcare now serves over 2.2 million Hispanic members with employer-sponsored plans.
Bennett lived in Mexico for 30 years, and is fully bilingual and bicultural. He served as the founding executive director of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, U.S. Section. Prior to that, he was the director of international and multicultural services for Sharp HealthCare in San Diego, the largest nonprofit health care provider along the U.S. Mexico border.
Bennett has supported health improvement for many years, with special emphasis on the Latino and Asian communities. He created and produced the popular health education program on television titled ¡Salud para Usted! (Health for You!) to provide community members clear information (both in Spanish and English) on illness prevention, health promotion and access issues.
In 2007 Bennett received the “Border Health Leadership Award” from the International Community Foundation, recognizing lifetime achievement in supporting health improvement among Latinos and the border community at large. In 2008, Bennett’s Latino Health Solutions team received an award from the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) for their innovative Bilingual Customer Service and Member Access. Bennett created PlanBienSM , a market leading portfolio of health insurance products focused on the needs of Hispanic members. PlanBienSM now offers over 600 health care coverage plans to Spanish-preference members and their employers in eight states. Bennett and his Latino Health Solutions team have also developed a unique, bilingual Health Education Kiosk to provide health information to people who do not otherwise have access to the internet. In 2012, Latino Health Solutions was recognized by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) for UnitedHealthcare’s cultural competency partnership with Pitney Bowes to improve the health literacy of Pitney Bowes’s employees. Also in 2012, Bennett received the “Leadership in Innovation Award” from the National Hispanic Medical Association - NHMA. Bennett and his team have continued to receive awards and be recognized for their innovative health awareness and education materials and campaigns, including www.uhclatino.com and the recently-released bilingual mobile health information website http://m.uhclatino.com.