Navarro V
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205.
Int J Health Serv. 1991;21(2):229-35. doi: 10.2190/5WXM-QK9K-PTMQ-T1FG.
Recent statistics on increasing differences in mortality rates between blacks and whites in the United States are causing a great deal of concern. The reduction of this gap is an important national goal. Yet mortality differentials cannot be explained solely by race. We must also look at class, as do all Western nations other than the United States, when compiling health statistics. In the United States, how people live, get sick, and die depends not only on their race, sex, and age, but also on their class, whether measured by level of education, income, or occupation. Class differentials in mortality and morbidity are greater than race differentials. By focusing our attention on race differentials alone, we will not be able to understand why the health indicators of minorities in the United States are deteriorating.
美国近期有关黑人和白人死亡率差距不断扩大的统计数据引发了诸多担忧。缩小这一差距是一项重要的国家目标。然而，死亡率差异不能仅仅用种族来解释。在编制健康统计数据时，我们还必须像除美国之外的所有西方国家那样考虑阶层因素。在美国，人们的生活、患病和死亡方式不仅取决于他们的种族、性别和年龄，还取决于他们的阶层，无论阶层是通过教育水平、收入还是职业来衡量。死亡率和发病率方面的阶层差异大于种族差异。仅将注意力集中在种族差异上，我们将无法理解美国少数族裔的健康指标为何在恶化。
