"The future health of the nation will be determined to a large extent by how effectively we work with communities to reduce and eliminate health disparities between non-minority and minority populations experiencing disproportionate burdens of disease, disability, and premature death."                                 ~ Guiding Principle for Improving Minority Health Health Status of Minority Group Medical advances and new technologies have provided people in America with the potential for longer, healthier lives more than ever before. However, persistent and well-documented health disparities exist between different racial and ethnic populations and health equity remains elusive. Health disparities — differences in health outcomes that are closely linked with social, economic, and environmental disadvantage — are often driven by the social conditions in which individuals live, le...