Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Physicians: An Intervention to Address Health Disparities?

Differences in health status across racial and ethnic groups in the United States have been described for a wide array of diseases, conditions, and outcomes (NCHS, 2000). Despite overall improvements in life expectancy in the past century, African Americans still experience a lower average life expectancy at birth and higher average age-adjusted all-cause death rates than whites.