Health care disparities occur when there are inequalities or differences in health conditions and quality of care received among specific groups of people such as African-Americans, Caucasians, Asians or Hispanics. Not only does this occur between racial and ethnic groups, but health disparities can also occur between men and women. Minorities have the worst health care outcomes, higher mortality rates, and are more prone to terminal illness. For African American men and women, the most common health disparities are diabetes, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and HIV infections. Some factors that may contribute to disparities include access to health care, transportation, referrals to specialists, and ineffective communication with patients. There is also a lot of racism today, which may be another reason why African Americans may be mistreated when it comes to health care. “Although both Black and White patients tended to disapprove of the existence of racism in the medical system, African American patients were more likely to perceive racism” (Laveist, Nickerson, Bowie, 2000). Over the years, the healthcare system has improved, but some Americans, like African Americans, are still treated unequally when seeking the same care they want as everyone else. Diabetes is a disorder in which the body does not produce enough insulin and When insulin is not released into the body, it does not allow glucose to enter the bloodstream. There are three different types of diabetes, but the one that affects African Americans is type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes normally occurs in adults and occurs when their body can make its own insulin but cannot use it. . Some symptoms of diabetes can...... middle of paper ......betes - Diabetes Center - Everyday Health. EverydayHealth.com. Accessed April 29, 2014 from http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/understanding/diabetes-mellitus-through-time.aspxMensah, GA, Mokdad, AH, Ford, ES, Greenlund, KJ and Croft, JB (January 24 2005). Status of cardiovascular health disparities in the United States. Traffic. Retrieved April 28, 2014 from http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/10/1233.shortWard, DE, Jemal, DA, Cokkinides, DV, Singh, DG, Cardinez, C., Ghafoor, A., et al. (December 31, 2008). . Wiley Online Library. Retrieved April 29, 2014 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.54.2.78/fullWilliams, DR and Jackson, P. (April 1, 2014). Health Affairs. Social sources of racial health disparities. Accessed April 29, 2014 from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/2/325.short