Diversity and Health
Health care can increase longevity and the quality of life; yet people's access to that care—as well as the likelihood that they will become ill—is affected by social, cultural, economic, and geographic conditions. RAND Health research on the influence of such types of diversity on health focuses on differences in risk for particular conditions as well as differences in health care, including access, treatment, and outcomes. Our current studies on diversity and health are highlighted below.
Profiles of Current Research
Highlights of Recent Studies
Improving Access to Needed Health Care Improves Low-Income Children's Quality of Life.
An examination of the effects of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on at-risk children's access to needed health services and on their quality of life.
Triple Jeopardy for Vulnerable Children: Greater Health Needs, Less Access, Poorer Primary Care.
Children with the greatest health needs have the least access to care; however, children in states in which SCHIP is linked to Medicaid are more likely to be enrolled.
Redefining and Reforming Health Care for the Last Years of Life.
Increases in life expectancy in the United States are increasing the need for end-of-life care, which in turn demands health care reform and policy changes.
Disparities in Care for HIV patients: Results of the HCSUS Study.
Although differences in HIV care among various groups are beginning to narrow, use of case management would help eliminate disparities entirely.
Obese Women Receiving Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Are Often Undertreated. — 2006
Chemotherapy dosing that is not based on body weight may affect the treatment effectiveness for this group of women.
Does Neighborhood Deterioration Lead to Poor Health?
Neighborhood deterioration is associated with poorer health; however, collective efficacy is associated with lower rates of disease and other markers of poor health
Do Cardiologists Perceive Racial or Ethnic Disparities in the Treatment of Heart Patients?
Results of a RAND Survey. Although only one-third of doctors surveyed expressed a belief in such disparities, nearly 70 percent attributed disparities to differences in insurance status or other patient factors.
HIV Testing Among Indigent Women: Who Gets Tested?
A random survey of homeless women and women living in low-income housing in Los Angeles County asking if they had been tested for HIV at least once showed that more than 80 percent had been tested.
Obesity and Disability: The Shape of Things to Come.
A series of studies that found that the significant increase in obesity, particularly severe obesity, over the past two decades, may lead to a rise in disability that will have severe cost consequences for Medicare and Medicaid.
Will Public Health's Response to Terrorism Be Fair?
The first population-based analysis of perceived fairness in the public health system's response to terrorism found ethnic differences, suggesting public health agencies need to assess their relationships with the community.
Related Web Sites
HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS)
http://www.rand.org/health/projects/hcsus/
RAND Center for Population Health and Health Disparities
RAND Drug Policy Research Center
UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion
Working with Congress
RAND's Washington Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) furthers RAND's mission to provide objective analysis and effective solutions by disseminating research results to Congress and federal agencies. The OCR publishes a monthly electronic newsletter featuring current work on health policy. Contact: Shirley Ruhe (Shirley_Ruhe@rand.org) or Kristy Anderson (kristy@rand.org).
The RAND Health Congressional Newsletter
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