Introduction: State-of-the-Art on Child Health Disparities.

Abstract

Thirteen years ago, the Institute of Medicine issued a report entitled “Crossing the Quality Chasm.” This report highlighted gaps in quality health care and recommended that health care be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.1 The aim of equity in quality care addressed characteristics including gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. Two years later, the Institute of Medicine released another landmark report, “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.”2 This report reviewed the literature and documented racial/ethnic disparities in health care, concluding with recommendations for improvements in medical care financing, allocation of care, availability of language … Address correspondence to Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 200 North Wolfe St, Suite 2055, Baltimore, MD 21287. E-mail: tcheng2{at}jhmi.edu