The Disparity Change Score

Abstract

One overarching goal of Healthy People 2010 is to eliminate health disparities. Reducing disparities improves the overall health status of a population but is a lengthy process. The disparity change score (DCS) is a method for tracking health disparities over time. Rates, rate ratios, and DCSs were calculated to track disparities during two time periods by sex, race/ethnicity, education, and income for key health indicators. Time periods were 10 years apart for all death indicators; length between time periods varied for other indicators depending on data collection systems. Sex-, race/ethnicity-, education-, and income-based disparities and disparity changes for New Mexico were identified. In general, males, American Indians, and those with the lowest income and education experienced the greatest health disparities. Five disparities that are worsening were identified for targeted interventions, mainly for males (firearm-related death and suicide) and American Indians (diabetes death and influenza/pneumonia death), but also for white non-Hispanics (drug-related death). Examining disparities at one point in time discounts disparity change over time. The DCS can help identify large disparities that are worsening and toward which resources for targeted interventions can be redirected. New Mexico should consider interventions for the five key disparities identified in this study.