Mortality Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups in the Veterans Health Administration: An Evidence Review and Map.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the VHA's equal access health care system has reduced many racial/ethnic mortality disparities present in the private sector, our review identified mortality disparities that have persisted mainly for Black veterans in several clinical areas. However, because most mortality disparities were supported by single studies with imprecise findings, we could not draw strong conclusions about this evidence. More disparities research is needed for American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Hispanic veterans overall and for more of the largest life expectancy gaps. Public Health Implications. Because of the relatively high prevalence of diabetes in Black veterans, further research to better understand and reduce this mortality disparity may be prioritized as having the greatest potential impact. However, other mortality disparities affect thousands of veterans and cannot be ignored. PMID: 29412713 [PubMed - in process]
Source: American Journal of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Am J Public Health Source Type: research