Population Health and Status Assessment

Population Health and Status Assessment
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

Population Health and Status Assessment
Health Care Disparities in Cleveland Clinic
This healthcare center in Ohio offers quality care to patients and conducts academic research in clinical medicine. Currently, it is among the highly reputable hospitals not only in Ohio but also in the country. Cleveland Clinic is renowned for delivering excellent services in the areas of cardiology, urology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and nephrology (Cleveland Clinic, 2018). Nevertheless, Cleveland Clinic experiences many disparities in health care delivery just like most US hospitals. Ethical, racial, age, disability, and socioeconomic status are among the factors that bring about health inequality. In this hospital, some patients lack access to health care services because they are uninsured. This problem mostly affects low-income earners who cannot afford to pay for a health insurance plan (Zuckerman, 2017). Notably, Cleveland Clinic has been facing disparities in ethnic and racial minorities. Particularly, African American men are adversely affected by prostate cancer for several reasons. First, this ethnic group comprises of individuals from low socio-economic status and literacy levels who cannot afford quality and comprehensive care. Second, African Americans tend to mistrust the health care system, and they ignore the need to undergo regular check-ups and clinical trials.
In an attempt to address these disparities, Cleveland Clinic established the Minority Men’s Health Fair as well as the Minority Health Center with the aim of detecting prostate cancer among black men in general (Modlin, 2012).

Notably, this voluntary program benefits the uninsured patients because they get free screening services and, in the process, learn the importance of getting insured. Cleveland Clinic funds the program entirely and ensures its programs are successful by encouraging community volunteers from the neighborhoods (Greising, 2016). Today, these centers have saved the lives of many African Americans in Ohio and created a positive relationship between the organization and the ethnic minority groups in the society. However, the program has not been as successful as intended due to the issue of mistrust (Greising, 2016). The hospital is working towards developing trust with the minority groups in the community so as to encourage them to undergo preventive screenings and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

References
Cleveland Clinic. (2018). About | Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/about
Greising, C. H. (2016, December 22). Cleveland Clinic’s 15-Year Focus on Improving Minority Health. Retrieved from https://www.hhnmag.com/articles/7908-cleveland-clinics-15-year-focus-on-improving-minority-healthModlin, C. (2012). Addressing disparities in health care. Retrieved from https://www.mdedge.com/ccjm/article/95661/practice-management/addressing-disparities-health-careZuckerman, D. (2017, February 9). A business plan for healthy communities. Retrieved from https://www.hhnmag.com/articles/8028-a-business-plan-for-healthy-communities