Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Across the Life Span in the United States and England

Melissa L. Martinson, Princeton University

In the field of racial and ethnic health disparities, comparative international studies between the United States (U.S) and other countries are lacking. This study focuses on the U.S. and England, two countries with many similarities yet differing in terms of health care provision and social safety net policies. Racial and ethnic health disparities across the life span are compared systematically from childhood to old age using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Health Survey for England (HSE). I find that levels of disparities are similar in the two countries for a number of diseases, including diabetes and hypertension.