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PRINCIPLES REGARDING HEALTH DISPARITIES

The American Medical Student Association:

1.             BELIEVES that a comprehensive strategy incorporating research, education, policy changes, and community partnerships is necessary to eliminate health disparities. (2004)

2.             URGES all medical schools to incorporate health disparities and cultural competency education into the curriculum, including but not limited to knowledge of disparities in healthcare access, treatment, outcomes, and health status for racial and ethnic minority patients; the patient-physician relationship; the health care delivery system; limited English proficiency populations; understanding of culture-specific illnesses and culture-specific treatments; patient beliefs; provider biases and stereotyping. (2004)

3.             ENCOURAGES federal and state initiatives to eliminate health disparities “by providing” funding to cultural competency curriculum development in medical training, translation services for patients with limited English proficiency, and data collection and analysis to identify disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental effects on minority populations. (2004)

4.              STRONGLY OPPOSES any efforts to weaken the office of minority health by opening its jurisdiction to white populations or by removing grant-making authority from the office of minority health. (2004)

5.             RECOGNIZES the importance of a universal health care system in eliminating health disparities. (2004)