THE ROLE OF RACE ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL-CLASS IN MINORITY HEALTH-STATUS

Minority health is often considered as a unitary phenomenon; it is oft en assumed that the health status of minority groups in the United Sta tes is similar across groups and much worse than that for whites. Yet the reality is extraordinary diversity. Racial/ethnic groups differ gr eatly both among and within themselves with regard to health status an d with regard to a large number of other indices. Mortality rates arou nd the world generally show an inverse relationship with social class. While this generally holds true in the United States as well, once ag ain we see a strong interaction with race/ethnicity. However, the medi ating factors between race/ethnicity and social class, and health stat us are not well understood. Especially in the face of health care refo rm, a broad-based research agenda needs to be undertaken so that airy restructuring of the health care delivery system is informed by empiri cal information.