AHRQ Report Finds Some Disparities Eliminated in Measures of Healthy Living

When it comes to measures of healthy living, such as getting advice from a doctor about exercise or healthy eating, many disparities between racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups have narrowed or have been eliminated, according to an AHRQ analysis. The 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report's Chartbook on Healthy Living showed, for example, that there is no longer a disparity between obese black and white adults age 20 and over being told by a doctor that they are overweight. In addition, living in a low-income household is no longer a barrier among obese adults from receiving advice from a health professional to exercise more. Researchers found that more than 60 percent of healthy living measures showed improvement from 2002 through 2013. However, challenges remain; Hispanics, blacks, American Indians and Alaska Natives received worse care than whites for about one-third of healthy living measures. The chartbook provides a detailed data analysis that complements the National Quality Strategy’s Priorities in Focus – Healthy Living brief. Meanwhile, AHRQ offers numerous resources for living a healthy lifestyle, including tips for staying healthy at any age, getting to a healthy weight, and advice for quitting smoking.

Chartbook on Healthy Living

National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report

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2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report & 5th Anniversary Update on the National Quality Strategy

This Healthy Living chartbook is part of a family of documents and tools that support the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report(QDR). The QDR includes annual reports to Congress mandated in the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-129). This chartbook includes a summary of trends across measures of healthy living from the QDR and figures illustrating select measures of healthy living. A PowerPoint version is also available that users can download for presentations.