Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Population Health for Nurses

Introduction

Population Health for NursesIntroduction
Figure 9.1 Access to reliable and affordable public transportation such as a subway, bus, or trolley can determine whether an individual obtains health care. (credit: modification of work by David Wilson/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Chapter Outline

Introduction

Marinelle is a registered nurse case manager in the Population Health Management Department for a major health insurance company tasked with managing the care of Medicaid beneficiaries in a rural county in Mississippi. Medicaid is a government health insurance program that provides free or low-cost health coverage to some low-income people, families and children, pregnant individuals, older adults, and people with disabilities. It is funded by the federal government and managed by each state. The population in the county where Marinelle works has a diverse range of income levels, from low income to upper middle class. Marinelle is tasked with ensuring that clients with the highest risk factors for poor health outcomes can obtain the health care they need, which requires her to address health disparities in the population. This chapter will define health disparities and discuss the various types of health disparities in the population.

PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute OpenStax, and must distribute any derivative works under the same license.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/population-health/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/population-health/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Apr 23, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.