Minority Health Populations are defined as populations where there is significant disparity in the overall ethnicity, rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or survival rates as compared to the health status of the general population. The following populations have been designated as health disparity populations: Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, rural populations and other affected populations such as LGBT, Geriatric, Veterans, Mentally and Physically Disabled Populations.
- Health disparity research is considered as basic clinical, social, or behavioral research in a health disparity population (which involves individuals members and communities of such populations), including the causes of such health disparities and methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat disparities, with the proposed work being focused on improving minority health or health disparities is considered health disparity research.
- Population health research is an interdisciplinary field focusing on the health outcomes of groups of individuals, which can be defined variously, e.g. workers at a workplace, residents of a neighborhood, people sharing a common race or social status, or the population of a nation.
- Population health researchers conduct studies that seek to characterize, explain and/or influence the levels and distributions of health within and across populations.
- Population health researchers view health as the product of multiple determinants at the biologic, genetic, behavioral, social, and environmental levels and their interactions among individuals and groups and across time and generations. The field addresses health outcomes, health determinants, and policies and interventions that link the two in efforts to improve population health and reduce health disparities.