INTEREST
Public
How psychologists are helping
to reduce health disparities
BY DR. GWENDOLYN PURYEAR KEITA • APA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Although the United States offers some of the most advanced health and
mental health services in the world, not everyone in the country shares
equally in these benefits. These health disparities are of critical concern for
psychologists. Over the past several decades, various government agencies
have collected data to measure the extent of health disparities in the
United States, and many public and private organizations
have launched programs to reduce or eradicate them. In 2011,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
launched two such initiatives: the HHS Action Plan to Reduce
Health Disparities and the National Stakeholder Strategy
for Achieving Health Equity. However, health disparities
persist — in fact, according to a 2012 Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality report, some have worsened.
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MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY • JULY/AUGUST 2012
