Читать книгу The Science of Health Disparities Research - Группа авторов - Страница 51

Race, ethnicity, and nationality are often used interchangeably. Ethnicity refers to cultural commonality, whereas race refers to one's physical characteristics, predominantly skin color. Nationality refers to one's country of origin. It is important to note that there has been a lack of clarity when it comes to defining race and ethnicity. In examining representative medical and allied health dictionaries for definitions of race, one finds significant variability. This lack of clarity has had important implications for the collection of data by race and ethnicity. It was not until 1977, when the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued OMB Directive No. 15, that standards were established for the collection of data on race and ethnicity, which allowed for consistency and comparable data for a variety of government programs. Since then, federal data have been routinely reported for Latinos and Asian Americans. Detailed census definitions are provided in chapter 1 [3].