Peer Responses: Length: A minimum of 275 words per post, not including reference

Peer Responses:
Length: A minimum of 275 words per post, not including references
Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA per post from within the last 5 years
Life expectancy has reached an all-time low since 2003 in the United States with the life expectancy almost five years lower when compared to other industrialized countries (Rosenthal et al., 2022). Poor health not only impacts the quality of life an individual has, it impacts everything on a mass scale. It has an affect on cost of healthcare, productivity of the workforce, and even impacts our military (Rosenthal et al., 2022). Unfortunately, this does not affect all races and ethnicities across the board and according to Rosenthal et al. (2022), the Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black populations have been impacted at higher rates than the non-Hispanic white population creating disparities in the economic and social systems.
Based on hundreds of studies that cover inequalities in healthcare it is well known that the cause is multifactorial, however, we also know that a providers’ behavior and the choices they make, that include their use of guidelines and evidence-based practice to guide their care, contribute to the problem (Van Ryn, 2016). Van Ryn (2016) discusses that most providers have difficulty identifying that they are biased and Van Ryn points to unconscious bias as the issue in some cases and based on research, suggests that they do have trouble accepting this bias. This only contributes to the problem because until one can accept that they might be biased, they cannot overcome this. Regardless of accepting it or not, it does impact the quality of care that is provided.
Van Ryn (2016) identifies some actions that can help to decrease this bias and improve health equity for all individuals. They are: 1) placing yourself in the patient’s shoes, 2) fostering a partnership with the patient, 3) self-care and protecting our mental resources, 4) having a positive attitude, and 5) exposing yourself to positive images in order to counter any negative stereotypes. These are just some steps we can take as providers.
References
Rosenthal, J., Rapfogel, N., & Johns, M. (2022). Top 10 ways to improve health and health equity. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/top-10-ways-to-improve-health-and-health-equity/#:~:text=Improve%20education%20access%20and%20quality.,social%20connections%20and%20community%20safety
Van Ryn, M. (2016). Avoiding unintended bias: Strategies for providing more equitable health care. Minnesota medicine, 99(2), 40–46. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5476527