Barriers to and facilitators of dietetics education among students of diverse backgrounds : results of a survey / Crystal L. Wynn, Sudha Raj, Frances Tyus, Yvonne D. Greer, Rita Kashi Batheja, Zareena Rizwana, Rosa K. Hand

The United States is projected to become a majority-minority nation for the first time in 2043. Hispanic and Asian populations are expected to experience exponential increases by 2060, while smaller increases are anticipated within the African-American, American-Indian, and Alaskan-Native populations. The resulting patient base will increase demand for a racially and ethnically diverse health care workforce capable of providing time-sensitive, individualized health care that meets patients’ expectations and accounts for literacy, language abilities, and levels of acculturation and assimilation. Failure or inability to competently address these issues could result in bias, poor patient−provider relationship, worse health outcomes, and low patient compliance, which ultimately combine to exacerbate existing health care disparities.

Nutrition.