Health inequity and not health equity is an ever-present problem for minority elders. We believe that health inequity in later life is best understood from a life-course perspective—to fully grasp current and past effects of inequities. Today, about one in every four adults ages 65 and older in the United States is part of a racial or ethnic minority group (i.e., Blacks/African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders).
Given the negative sociohistorical experiences of minorities in the United States, millions of elders in these groups likely have experienced the cumulative effects of health inequalities. These inequities are experienced at systemic and interpersonal levels. Thus, minorities disproportionately experience greater health problems and risks in later life compared to older non-Hispanic whites. How are these inequities confronted as individual levels of disparities that people “feel” and experience in later life? And how are such disparities addressed by different groups as reflected in their understanding of risk factors as well as developing resilience and coping abilities?
(author abstract)